Deconstruction of Psychotherapy

In Dr. Karasu's hands the modern penchant for historical deconstruction becomes a powerful instrument for the analysis and clarification of the bewildering variety of clinical procedures currently labeled 'psychotherapy.' His tripartite categorization of those procedures as 'dynamic,' 'behavioral,' and 'experiential' provides the basis for his further delineation of the specific features that the individual psychotherapies share in common on the one hand, and that on the other, define each as a distinct entity in its own right. In so doing, Dr. Karasu has fashioned a detailed and illuminating map of the current jungle of proliferating psychotherapies that will serve as an invaluable guide for clinicians and investigators alike.

In a scholarly overview of the major trends of contemporary psychotherapy, Dr. Karasu offers the reader a clear and comprehensive synthesis of the essential aspects of psychodynamic, behavioral, and experiential psychotherapeutic approaches. His deconstructive methodology naturally leads to a focus on major controversies affecting this field and the relevant research questions derived from these controversies. While critically exploring contemporary theories of mind, Dr. Karasu raises challenging questions about the relationship between theory and practice, between specific and non-specific effects of psychotherapeutic interventions, and between clinical practice and research in psychotherapy. The reader may agree or not with Dr. Karasu's rejection of allmajor present theory formulations, but will be enriched by the fundamental questions posed in this book. For the psychiatric resident, the practicing psychotherapist, and the mental health professional facing the contemporary psychotherapeutic scene, this volume offers a clarifying and organizing perspective on the essential tenets of competing theories, the corresponding research approaches, and a thoughtful and wise proposal regarding crucial common therapeutic factors across the wide spectrum of curre (Otto F. Kernberg)

In a scholarly overview of the major trends of contemporary psychotherapy, Dr. Karasu offers the reader a clear and comprehensive synthesis of the essential aspects of psychodynamic, behavioral, and experiential psychotherapeutic approaches. His deconstructive methodology naturally leads to a focus on major controversies affecting this field and the relevant research questions derived from these controversies. While critically exploring contemporary theories of mind, Dr. Karasu raises challenging questions about the relationship between theory and practice, between specific and non-specific effects of psychotherapeutic interventions, and between clinical practice and research in psychotherapy. The reader may agree or not with Dr. Karasu's rejection of all major present theory formulations, but will be enriched by the fundamental questions posed in this book. For the psychiatric resident, the practicing psychotherapist, and the mental health professional facing the contemporary psychotherapeutic scene, this volume offers a clarifying and organizing perspective on the essential tenets of competing theories, the corresponding research approaches, and a thoughtful and wise proposal regarding crucial common therapeutic factors across the wide spectrum of current psychotherapies. (Otto F. Kernberg)

T. Byram Karasu, M.D., a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, is presently the Silverman Professor and University Chairman of the Deparmtent of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstien College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, and the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Psychotherapy. He is the author or editor of 20 books, including two novels, Of God and Madness and The Gotham Chronicles—The Culture of Sociopathy; a book of poetry, Rags of My Soul; the seminal work, Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders; and two best sellers, The Art of Serenity and The Spirit of Happiness. Dr. Karasu is a scholar, renowned clinician, teacher and lecturer, and the recipient of numerous awards. He lives in New York City.