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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected, but useful as a caring tool, 7 Jan 2004
I was expecting an exposé of the psychiatric industry, but what I got was a virtual workbook! Glassner has obviously thought about the effects of the doctor-patient power dynamic quite completely, and his conclusions echo what many in mental health advocacy know only too well, that choice is being eroded from the treatment that is being offered to those who should really be empowered to find solutions, rather than to be told to conform and given drugs to coerce them into doing just that.The book has multiple chapters describing a choice theory focus group, and it's use of the methodology used to empower the members of the group, it makes for interesting reading, and can be used as an example of, not only how to run a focus group, but develop further ideas within whatever framework you work in. For example, Glassner's breakdown of external control psychology could quite easily be fitted into the working patterns of most counsellors and psychotherapists. As a strong believer in advocacy and a student counsellor, I'm very glad I bought this book. It has helped me to arrange my own ideas regarding choice and self-definition, into a cogniscent pattern within my own rather existentialist mindset, and Glassner has shown me the side of psychiatry we all wish we could see; the pro-choice side. A fantastic book full of wonderful ideas, but the almost self-help, business-like approach loses it a point in my view. Personally, I would have preferred a more academic style, but then, I suppose it would not appeal to the general reader, and if that was the case, then many people would not benefit from it's overall message; you are not ill, you are unhappy, and you can do something about it without taking dangerous drugs. A timely message for us all, in this age of take away social relationships, quick-fixes and controlling professionals.
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by William Glasser
by Terry Lynch
by Peter Roger Breggin
by Mark Williams
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