Democratic Mind

I.W. Charny is retired professor of psychology and family therapy at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The argument for freedom of thought in our work and in our lives is emblazoned in this groundbreaking book for our times. A Democratic Mind marshals cogent arguments against the social and psychotherapeutic trends toward the surrender of imposed constraints on thought and action and toward the suggestion that rule-bound ideas of mental health and illness will suffice. If you long for a unifying call for freedom of thought, read this book!

• Foreword, by Allen Frances, M.D. Preface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Coming Back Home from the Study of Genocide to Everyday Psychopathologyand PsychotherapyPart I: Applying the Concept of Democratic Mind to Treating Emotional Disorders, Breakdowns of Relationships and Disorders of EvilChapter 1: Democratic Mind: A Different Lens for Understanding and Treating for Psychological HealthChapter 2: Understanding Totalitarian Meanings in Relationship Disorders and PsychopathologyPart II: Psychological Health, the Woes of DSM, and Multiple Schools of TherapyChapter 3: Psychological Health: Protecting and Improving the Quality of Life: My Own Life and the Lives of OthersChapter 4: A Basic Question for Psychiatry and Psychology: How Much Can We Try to Cure the Mind through the Body?Chapter 5: DSM-Thinking is Oblivious to the Human Condition: Returning Psychiatry to the Unconscious, Human Relationships, and Value ChoicesChapter 6: The Wisdom and Tools of Multiple Schools of PsychotherapyAfterwordAppendix: Prescriptions for a Free and Democratic MindBibliography