Mind Games: Are We Obsessed with Therapy?

by Robert A. Baker

Psychotherapy can be a hazardous undertaking. Clients have only two talk or pills. Modern psychiatry, with its emphasis on biological theorizing and genetic speculation, has been responsible for the "diseasing" and "tranquilizing" of the public and for convincing most Americans that if they are not already mentally ill and in urgent need of help, they soon will be. And instead of living free, independent, and spontaneous lives, most clients of psychotherapy wind up more dependent, more anxious, more addicted, and psychologically and emotionally worse off than before. The history of psychotherapy is marked by incompetence, inhumane and immoral treatment, and a total misunderstanding of human beings. Sadly, this lack of understanding also dominates mental health treatment today. The young, the elderly, the emotionally distraught, and the weak and dependent are still being taken advantage of by unethical, immoral, and incompetent psychologists, counselors, and social workers.Dr. Baker addresses the problem of the lack of scientific training and outlook among the people in the mental health field and examines what is needed if the public is to be better served by the mental health professions.

477 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

There is more than one author in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for Robert A.^Baker.

Baker, Robert A. (Robert Allen) 1921-2005

He is the editor of Psychology in the Wry, a collection of satire, and was formerly the co-editor of Approaches, a quarterly journal of contemporary poetry. His satirical and humorous verses have appeared in Vogue, Saturday Review, The Journal of Irreproducible Results, Worm-Runners' Digest, and other journals.