Doing Good?: Psychotherapy out of Its Depth

by Peter Lomas

Over the past decade, psychotherapy and counseling have become more and more popular, with many people turning to therapists in the hope of finding a better, happier, more fulfilling life. In this cogently argued and beautifully written book, Peter Lomas argues that as psychotherapy enters the mainstream, therapists have become dependent on the technical aspects of their profession at the expense of the many moral issues involved. In fact, Lomas believes therapists have grown so afraid of moralizing or of departing from what he views as a spurious scientific neutrality that the dialog between therapist and patient is distorted, potentially confusing, and too remote from the healthy reality of ordinary conversation.
In this provocative analysis, Peter Lomas draws on his day-to-day experience of working with patients to explore, among other things, the loss of spontaneity and avoidance of closeness which may hinder rather than help the healing process. He looks at the problems associated with issues of power and its abuse, which is central to psychotherapy, and he studies the dilemmas involved when two people have a clash of moral beliefs.
This is a lucid and thought-provoking addition to the literature on psychotherapy and will appeal to both trainee and practicing therapists and counselors, people in therapy, and those considering embarking on it.

152 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 1999