Nick Totton – författare

It is very difficult for the student or practitioner to find their way through the jungle of different personality typographies that has sprung up in the field of psychotherapy; and even harder for them to find a point of sufficient height above the forest canopy to get their bearings in order to compare one system with another. This volume offers such an observation point together with some possible mappings. It surveys how different schools of therapy approach a basic topic, the differences that exist between people - including their attitudes, feelings, concerns and talents. It examines different systematic and non-systematic approaches to identifying different types of human being, exploring whether there are systematic ways in which humans vary, how we can assess the merit of different typologies, and whether personality typing is a helpful approach to therapy.Character and Personality Types looks in detail at the arguments for and against the use of typologies of character and personality as a clinical tool; and offers general criteria for judging the merits of particular personality systems, as well as exploring the possibility of a wider synthesis.

"...a well-rooted resource for bodywork courses and a useful introductory text for a broad audience." Caduceus

"It's not a big book but it's got a vast amount of information and knowledge in it. ...if you are interested in getting a good overall picture of the subject you couldn't do better." The Fulcrum

Body psychotherapy is an holistic therapy which approaches human beings as united bodymind, and offers embodied relationship as its central therapeutic stance. Well-known forms include Reichian Therapy, Bioenergetics, Dance Movement Therapy, Primal Integration and Process Oriented Psychology.

This new title examines the growing field of body psychotherapy:

Surveys the many forms of body psychotherapy Describes what may happen in body psychotherapy and offers a theoretical account of how this is valuable drawing in current neuroscientific evidence Defines the central concepts of the field, and the unique skills needed by practitioners Accessible and practical, yet grounded throughout in current researchBody Psychotherapy: An Introduction is of interest to practitioners and students of all forms of psychotherapy and counselling, and anyone who wants to understand how mind and body together form a human being.

There is currently an explosion of interest in the field of body psychotherapy. This is feeding back into psychotherapy and counselling in general, with many practitioners and trainees becoming interested in the role of the body in holding and releasing traumatic patterns.

This collection of ground-breaking work by practitioners at the forefront of contemporary body psychotherapy enriches the whole therapy world. It explores the leading edge of theory and practice, including:

Neuroscientific contributionsEmbodied countertransferenceMovement patterns and infant developmentFreudian and Jungian approachesContinuum MovementEmbodied-Relational TherapyProcess WorkBody-Mind Centering® Developmental Somatic PsychotherapyTrauma workNew Dimensions in Body Psychotherapy is an essential contribution to the ‘turn to the body’ in modern psychotherapy.

Contributors: Jean-Claude Audergon, Katya Bloom, Roz Carroll, Emilie Conrad, Ruella Frank, Linda Hartley, Gottfried Heuer, Peter Levine, Yorai Sella, Michael Soth, Nick Totton, David Tune.

This unique collection by leading authors explores the links between therapy and the political world, and their contribution to each other. Topics covered include: Psychotherapy in the political sphere, including the roots of conflict, social trauma, and ecopsychology Political dimensions of psychotherapy practice, such as discrimination, power, sexuality, and postcolonial issuesPsychotherapy, the state and institutions, including the law and ethics, and psychotherapy in healthcare Working at the interface, examples of therapy in political action from Croatia, the USA, the UK and Israel/Palestine How to ‘place’ political issues in therapy is highly controversial – for example, whether political themes should be interpreted psychologically in the consulting room, or respected as valid in their own right: similar issues arise for the role of therapeutic insights in political reality. This book provides a map through these complex and demanding areas for therapists and counsellors in training, as well as for experienced practitioners or other interested readers.

Contributors: Lane Arye, Arlene Audergon, Emanuel Berman, Sandra Bloom, Jocelyn Chaplin, Petruska Clarkson, Chess Denman, Dawn Freshwater, Kate Gentile, John Lees, Renos Papadopoulos, Hilary Prentice, Mary-Jayne Rust, Judy Ryde, Andrew Samuels, Nick Totton.

In this book, the author argues and demonstrates that embodiment and relationship are inseparable, both in human existence and in the practice of psychotherapy. It is helpful for psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, counsellor, or other psychopractitioner.

This book demonstrates, in different ways, that paranormal phenomena are of direct relevance to psychoanalysis, and that they frequently impinge directly on its clinical practice—most obviously in the forms of telepathy and synchronicity.

This anthology illustrates the range and diversity of responses from the psychological world to the multiple ecological crises with which our society is faced. “Vital signs” are the basic physiological measures of functioning which health practitioners use to assess how ill a patient is. This book focuses not on our physical predicament, with so many of the earth’s systems severely stressed and beginning to fail, but on our psychological predicament. As news of this very serious situation slowly penetrates our defences, we struggle as individuals and as a society to find an adequate response.

`This is one of the most comprehensive books that I have read that addresses the relationship between therapies, the social and the political. Comprehensive in the sense that it covers many areas in short but succinct chapters which focus on particular relationships in the field. It is, in some way, a textbook, rather than a monograph and I would imagine that students of the field would find it a useful source of reference that they would return to time and again' - Psychotherapy & Politics

`SAGE's invariably stimulating book series 'Perspectives in Psychotherapy', edited by Colin Feltham, is certainly fortunate to be graced by the latest addition from Nick Totton, who offers us a tour de force of the diverse and manifold ways in which therapy and politics interpenetrate and inform each other' - Richard House, Self & Society

`This is a truly outstanding book. In a world riven with anger, hatred, fear and aggression it provides a window of rationality, inspired by intelligence, understanding and humanistic principles' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy

`This stimulating addition to SAGE's catalogues aims to give the practising counsellor/therapist a multi-dimensional overview of the various ways in which the political and psychotherapeutic worlds interface' - Association for University and College Counselling Newsletter

This stimulating book explores the long-standing relationship between psychotherapy and politics and argues that from the beginning psychotherapy has had a political face.

Documenting instances where ideas from psychotherapy have been incorporated into the political agenda, the book demonstrates the practical value of psychotherapy as an instigator of social and political change. Related to this, attempts to understand and evaluate political life through the application of psychotherapeutic concepts are examined.

The author poses a number of key questions, including: What is human nature? Are aggression and violence innate in us? Is the therapeutic relationship inherently unequal? And, is the political an appropriate topic for therapy and counselling?

`This is one of the most comprehensive books that I have read that addresses the relationship between therapies, the social and the political. Comprehensive in the sense that it covers many areas in short but succinct chapters which focus on particular relationships in the field. It is, in some way, a textbook, rather than a monograph and I would imagine that students of the field would find it a useful source of reference that they would return to time and again' - Psychotherapy & Politics

`SAGE's invariably stimulating book series 'Perspectives in Psychotherapy', edited by Colin Feltham, is certainly fortunate to be graced by the latest addition from Nick Totton, who offers us a tour de force of the diverse and manifold ways in which therapy and politics interpenetrate and inform each other' - Richard House, Self & Society

`This is a truly outstanding book. In a world riven with anger, hatred, fear and aggression it provides a window of rationality, inspired by intelligence, understanding and humanistic principles' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy

`This stimulating addition to SAGE's catalogues aims to give the practising counsellor/therapist a multi-dimensional overview of the various ways in which the political and psychotherapeutic worlds interface' - Association for University and College Counselling Newsletter

This stimulating book explores the long-standing relationship between psychotherapy and politics and argues that from the beginning psychotherapy has had a political face.

Documenting instances where ideas from psychotherapy have been incorporated into the political agenda, the book demonstrates the practical value of psychotherapy as an instigator of social and political change. Related to this, attempts to understand and evaluate political life through the application of psychotherapeutic concepts are examined.

The author poses a number of key questions, including: What is human nature? Are aggression and violence innate in us? Is the therapeutic relationship inherently unequal? And, is the political an appropriate topic for therapy and counselling?

`This is one of the most comprehensive books that I have read that addresses the relationship between therapies, the social and the political. Comprehensive in the sense that it covers many areas in short but succinct chapters which focus on particular relationships in the field. It is, in some way, a textbook, rather than a monograph and I would imagine that students of the field would find it a useful source of reference that they would return to time and again' - Psychotherapy & Politics

`SAGE's invariably stimulating book series 'Perspectives in Psychotherapy', edited by Colin Feltham, is certainly fortunate to be graced by the latest addition from Nick Totton, who offers us a tour de force of the diverse and manifold ways in which therapy and politics interpenetrate and inform each other' - Richard House, Self & Society

`This is a truly outstanding book. In a world riven with anger, hatred, fear and aggression it provides a window of rationality, inspired by intelligence, understanding and humanistic principles' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy

`This stimulating addition to SAGE's catalogues aims to give the practising counsellor/therapist a multi-dimensional overview of the various ways in which the political and psychotherapeutic worlds interface' - Association for University and College Counselling Newsletter

This stimulating book explores the long-standing relationship between psychotherapy and politics and argues that from the beginning psychotherapy has had a political face.

Documenting instances where ideas from psychotherapy have been incorporated into the political agenda, the book demonstrates the practical value of psychotherapy as an instigator of social and political change. Related to this, attempts to understand and evaluate political life through the application of psychotherapeutic concepts are examined.

The author poses a number of key questions, including: What is human nature? Are aggression and violence innate in us? Is the therapeutic relationship inherently unequal? And, is the political an appropriate topic for therapy and counselling?

'"Vital signs" are, of course, the basic physiological measures of functioning which health practitioners use to assess the gravity of a patient's predicament. This anthology focuses not so much on our physical predicament, with so many of the Earth's systems severely stressed and beginning to fail - there are plenty of other places to read about this Instead we focus on our psychological predicament, as news of the situation slowly penetrates our defences and we struggle as individuals and as a society to find an adequate response. By "vital signs" we also mean signs that such a response is beginning to take shape: signs of hope, signs of healing.We feel that ecopsychology in Britain has a distinctive voice and unique contributions to make. In doing so, we hope to facilitate debate and dialogue within the field, in the hope that this will lead eventually to more developed theory and practice. Things are still at quite an early stage in the construction of ecopsychology as a discipline, and the articulation of relationships of compatibility or incompatibility between various approaches. It will take time for the field to reach maturity, to agree on terminology (or agree to use different terminologies), and to develop organisational forms. This is a familiar process for any new way of looking at things.At the same time as recognising this slow maturation, we are of course equally aware of the extraordinary urgency of the external situation which it is one of the missions of ecopsychologists to address. While there would in theory still be an important role for ecopsychology if we were not facing environmental meltdown - exploring the complex relationships between human and other-than-human, and the therapeutic value of bringing the two together - in practice ecopsychology has been completely shaped by a sense of catastrophic loss, of the irreversible destruction of complexity and the impending threat to the systems which sustain life on this planet.From this point of view, ecopsychology is part of a much larger movement seeking to develop awareness of climate change together with all the other developing ecological crises (pollution, over-consumption of resources, destruction of habitats, etc). What distinguishes ecopsychology from many of the other players in this larger movement, however - apart from the psychological focus itself - is a very widespread perception of human beings as just one element in the global ecosystem; and an agreement, both ethical and practical, that humanity cannot save itself by throwing other species out of the sledge. The ecosystem stands or falls as a whole, human, other-than-human, and more-than-human; and a failure to recognise this is itself a symptom of our culture's dissociation from its place in the larger whole, which is one of the causal factors leading to our current situation.Among people who have been working in this area for some time, there is a growing question: what if we fail? What if our society does not manage a transition to a carbon-free economy - and all of the other transformations of culture and practice which are required alongside this? In all probability time is getting extremely short; considerable damage to global ecosystems is already certain, and runaway "tipping point" effects are predicted by many scientists.Although awareness of this crisis is far greater than it was a decade ago, there is still little sign of a serious shift in public attitudes. Indeed in the UK, and elsewhere, ecological concerns have been eclipsed by the recent economic crisis with seemingly little recognition that of course ecological, social and economic crisis are completely interwoven. While the future can never be predicted with certainty, there is not much concrete basis for optimism. What then?'- From the Introduction

Embodied Relating is addressed both to body psychotherapists and to verbal therapists, and argues that embodied relating is the soil from which all therapy grows, and that conscious understanding of this makes our work more powerful and accurate.Embodied relating is embedded in our everyday life: we can all 'do' embodied relating, though some do it better than others. Like many other important aspects of life, it generally happens of its own accord, but sometimes benefits from the sort of close examination which tends to happen in therapy. However, psychotherapy has a history of keeping embodiment out of its field of awareness, and of preferring language-based relating to all other kinds - indeed, until quite recently, of downplaying here-and-now relationship altogether. All these things are now changing; and this book is intended to be part of the change.Embodiment and relationship are inseparable, both in human existence and in psychotherapy. If we explore embodiment, we encounter relationship; if we explore relationship, we encounter embodiment. Therapy is more powerful when the practitioner is able to recognise the constant interplay between these two aspects of being human, and to follow and support the shifts of change from one to the other. The book explores the nature of embodiment, and of embodied relating, drawing on many sources, including Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Bourdieu, enaction theory, extended cognition, and neuroscience. It places this in the context of psychotherapy, and of the wider social and political field. It then explores other related issues like play, language, trauma, and complexity, and offers a model for those trained in verbal therapy to consult their embodiment when working with clients. It ends with some wider speculations about embodiment, connectedness, human history and ecosystemic thinking.

'The space of the paranormal can indeed be frightening. But psychoanalysis specializes in entering and tolerating frightening spaces. Why should this one be an exception?'-Nick Totton from the ForewordThis fascinating and long-overdue work on paranormal phenomena - a topic ignored in mainstream psychoanalytic media since the 1950s - aims to demonstrate the real relevance of the paranormal to psychoanalysis and clinical practice. Nick Totton has gathered together a wide range of psychoanalytic approaches, including Freudian, Lacanian, Jungian and Reichian, to present an impressive collection of thought-provoking articles on this controversial subject. Various aspects of the paranormal are investigated, such as dream telepathy, parapsychology, UFO contactee stories and alien abductions (the only wholly sceptical paper in this collection, presented by two Parisian Lacanian analysts), and synchronicity. There is also a philosophical essay concerned with the concept of the paranormal and the surrounding psychoanalytic ideas. This is a well-informed and well-argued work that will engage its readers in a stimulating debate on the disputed concept of the paranormal.

Revised and updated edition of this body psychotherapy classic, Reichain Growth Work sets out to convey the essential features of Reichian Therapy in concrete and easily understandable language. The style of body therapy which it describes is democratic, growth-oriented and undogmatic, while still committed to Reich's radical description of human beings and their difficulties. This book is for people who want to change; because only by changing, profoundly painful as that sometimes is, can we stay alive and growing.

The first edition of Implausible Professions, published in 1997, foretold many of the core issues around therapy 'professionalisation' that have come to dominate the field in recent years as the shadow of possible state regulation has loomed ever larger over the psy landscape. In the current highly charged context, this new edition could not be better timed. The many and diverse chapters, written by a mix of well-known names and new arrivals, are as fresh and relevant today as they were in the 1990s. The back cover of the first edition described how the contributors to Implausible Professions 'throw into question many of the most taken-for-granted assumptions on which the professionalisationA" and commodification of psychotherapy and counselling are based. The essays display the creative pluralism and passionate vitality which typify the best aspects of therapeutic work.' This edition contains a completely new editorial Introduction and Conclusion, updating the story to 2011.For those engaging with the politics of professionalisation for the first time, or wanting to refresh themselves about the reasons why counselling and psychotherapy are in principle 'implausible professions', this text is even more indispensable than it was in 1997.

This volume brings together 24 of Nick Totton's articles and book chapters from the last thirteen years, all exploring in different ways the relationship between therapy, the world and society. A central argument is that therapy, if it is to be effective, cannot and should not be risk-free or risk-averse. Among the themes addressed are professionalisation and regulation; the fetishisation of boundaries; democracy and therapy; intimacy; embodiment; overwhelm; and ecopsychology. Throughout, there is a two-way dialogue between therapy and politics, with each enriching the other. Nick Totton argues that therapy is intrinsically without goals, and therefore cannot usefully be harnessed to the task of relieving symptoms and getting people back to work. This also means that therapy offers a model for a different kind of politics based not on policies and demands, but on process. Although regulation in the UK is temporarily halted, the long term battle over who controls psychotherapy and counselling is not over. So this collection of direct or implicit arguments about the wild nature of therapy, and its intrinsic unsuitability for domestication, is both relevant and urgent.

In today’s Western, industrialised society, ‘wild’ has come to mean dangerous, savage, crazy, out of control. This book celebrates wildness, both in global ecosystems and in the human psyche. Totton argues that embracing unpredictability and boundlessness is vital for our wellbeing and, in these times of environmental crisis, for the survival of humans and other-than-humans. Drawing on psychotherapy, philosophy, ecology, anthropology, futuristic fiction and much other literature, he shows the links between domesticated civilisation and the destruction of the innate balance of ecosystems – including human relationships and psyches. This second edition builds on the first to suggest what a wild civilisation might be like, and how psychotherapy could help create it.

'A revolution is underway in how we think about human variation. It has the potential to transform the social and political landscape, sweeping away walls and fences that stop so many people from fully participating. Psychotherapy should be in the vanguard of this revolution, but it isn't,' writes Nick Totton in this bold analysis of human difference. His aim is to challenge and also help the reader who self-defines as 'normal'- be they talking therapist, body therapist, client or anyone else - to interrogate their own normality, and hopefully to relinquish the word and all the privileges it brings. It is time, he writes, 'to dismantle that identity, pull down that statue, abandon that high plinth and rest on the solid ground of difference'. Then, he argues, psychotherapy practitioners may be in a position to learn from their clients how best to work with them.The book addresses differences of bodily capacity, gender and lifestyle differences, differences of skin colour and neuro differences. It also tackles differences between the human and non-human beings who inhabit the Earth. Totton's call is for recognition that we share this planet, and that creating standards of 'normality' leads to exclusion as well as inclusion, with all the psychological and other harms that brings.