Psychotherapy and Society

David Pilgrim is Honorary Professor of Health and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UK and Visiting Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Southampton. After training and working as a clinical psychologist he completed a PhD examining psychotherapy in the organisational setting of the British NHS. He then went on to complete a Master’s in sociology. He has worked at the boundary between clinical psychology and medical sociology for the past 20 years and has produced over 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals, based upon his research into mental health policy and practice. His years working in the British NHS provided him with extensive everyday experience of the theoretical and policy aspects of mental health expressed in practical settings. One of his books, A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness (3rd edition, Open University Press, 2005), co-authored with Anne Rogers, won the British Medical Association’s medical book of the year award for 2006. Currently he is writing a book on child sexual abuse and public policy.

`Pilgrim has some immensely enjoyable swipes at various aspects of the psychotherapy industry... he is at his most interesting when he focuses on the question of power relations in psychotherapy... his heart and his best writing are in the domain of traditional political activism, particularly the mental health users′ movement, social reform, equity in service access and so on. What he highlights clearly... is the way some fairly straightforward aspects of injustice and oppression are still key contexts in which the therapeutic enterprise functions... Pilgrim′s critique of psychotherapy′s social value is potent and chastening′ - Journal of Family Therapy`This is a very important book. It is wide-ranging, setting psychotherapy in the context of society. It is readable, despite its complexity and detail. It is also disturbing, posing lots of useful questions for therapists, particularly at a time when society is understandably auditing psychotherapy and counselling... I find David Pilgrim′s acute observations, fairly but challengingly made, most opportune, if therapy is to mature... This is a book that clearly challenges those of us who subscribe to a view of the self in relationship with society to examine ourselves and our practices and respond appropriately... Throughout, Pilgrim deftly holds two strands, the critical and the praising; this is what makes Psychotherapy and Society so much more profound and useful than, for example, Masson′s Against Therapy... this is a book for our time: a questioning, evaluating time, when to be fainthearted or closeted must surrender such psychotherapists to a fate similar to that which befell the dinosaurs′ - Self & Society`This informed and informative book places the principal approaches to psychotherapy in their social context and, from this perspective, develops a persuasive critique of their adequacy. More, it considers theory and practice in the light of current fashion of thought... with a clarity and concision which is both rare and refreshing. David Pilgrim... has produced a book which will be of enormous value to those wanting to broaden their horizens beyond the familiar vistas offered by essentially individualistic approaches to psychotherapy. It will also be worth its weight in gold to those wanting to teach others how their horizens might be so broadened... the book is a gem′ - Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology`Pilgrim′s book is a welcome breath of fresh air... it makes important and intelligent points about psychotherapy, makes them in a clear and unpretentious way and indicates the important contribution that a general sociological approach can make to debates about psychotherapy... Pilgrim raises some important issues, such as democracy in therapy... Moreover, he does this in an appealing style which is both polemical and engaging... In many ways [his] critique of psychoanalysis exemplifies what is good about the book. In contrast to most other studies in the area, it ask bold questions, takes a firm stance and refuses to take psychotherapy at face value′ - Sociology of Health and Illness`This book is essential reading for all practising psychotherapists and those in training. It considers the inherent power differentials between therapists and clients and potential consequences for harm as well as benefit. Pilgrim′s main thesis is that psychotherapy is inherently prone to psychological reductionism, locating an individual′s problems inside their heads and neglecting the social realities which have a powerful influence on our psychological well-being, emotional suffering and mental functioning... I found the book elegantly written and very accessible... It is refreshing to read someone thinking critically about the practice of clinical psychology (as well as psychiatry and psychoanalysis), who, unlike Masson, also recognizes there is a need and demand for professional "helping" ′ - Clinical Psychology Forum

• Psychotherapy and Social ScienceObjectivism, Post-Structuralism and General Systems TheoryClass DistinctionsWomen and MenRaces ApartThe Vagaries of AgeThe Contexts of TherapyWatching the ProfessionalsOrdinary People and Patient Survivors