Psychotherapy as Religion.

Psychotherapy as Religion

William M. Epstein

University of Nevada Press 

Mail Stop 166, Reno, NV, 89557-0076

0874176786 $24.95 1-877-682-6657

Professor William M. Epstein of the School of Social Work, University of Nevada presents Psychotherapy as Religion: The Civil Divine in America, a studious yet sharply critical look at the flaws of America's modern system of psychotherapeutic treatment (drug therapy and psychopharmacology are not covered). Psychotherapy as Religion sharply denounces psychotherapy as failing to provide sufficient scientific credibility that it is helpful for treating depression, anxiety, eating disorders, juvenile violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other ills, picking apart the inaccuracies and lack of rigorous professional standards in studies that attempt to show positive benefits from psychotherapeutic practice. Psychotherapy as Religion goes on to demonstrate how psychodynamic psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy are all rooted in an American mythology that exalts "heroic individualism", placing responsibility squarely on the individual's shoulders and utterly ignoring contributing factors from society. Thus, perhaps the greatest harm done by the (according to Epstein) religious adherence to psychotherapy to the point of virtual worship is that it forestalls efforts to find social solutions to problems caused by social ills. Though severe to the point of militancy, Psychotherapy as Religion promotes some serious criticisms that need to be heard regarding an institution that has to be held accountable with the same exacting rigor as required for all other branches of science and medicine.