The Origins of Unhappiness - Softcover

Smail, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006377971 ISBN 13: 9780006377979

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1993

Synopsis

The normal interpretation of psychological distress - more usually labelled as "neurosis" or "mental illness" - is that it originates from within the individual. This book turns this theory on its head and examines what the author believes is the real cause of individual distress - the society we live in. Looking particularly at the workings of both visible and invisible social power and placing his theory in the context of the political backdrop of the 1980s, the author describes the psychological consequences of the interplay of political and personal power and goes on to analyze the ways in which clinical psychology and psychiatry in Britain fail to meet the needs of the people being treated.

About this title

Review:

David Smail keenly recognised how many of us think and feel, and showed how attempts to reduce distress are so often limited by targeting the wrong thing: that is, the people in pain, not the more distal causes that underpin the suffering. All of David's books beautifully but tragically describe the paradox that those offering therapy often find themselves in: wanting to help but often making things worse by mis-perceiving the meaning of distress. His work deserves to be read anew by all those in the helping professions who are prepared to question their own work, to think seriously about the meaning of the current tsunami of personal unhappiness, and to learn from this wise and perceptive author. --Susan Llewelyn, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University

From the Back Cover:

The normal interpretation of emotional distress – more usually labelled as 'neurosis' or 'mental illness' – is that it originates from within the individual.

Unlike others who have looked at the outside world as a cause of fear, pain and unhappiness, David Smail offers a radical account of what this view means for a therapeutic practice that still, for the most part, 'treats' people. Through his examination of how visible and invisible social power – institutions, politics, the Establishment – wields an influence over our lives often beyond our immediate control, he leads us to an understanding of distress which has never been clearer.

Taking as case studies the experience of people who suffered from the 1980s 'business culture', when failure to meet impossible demands was considered the fault of the individual, Smail illustrates the sometimes devastating effects of the interplay between personal and political power. Finally, he analyses the failings of psychiatry and psychotherapy in Britain, and offers a vision of psychology which recognizes that it is the society we live in rather that the individual that needs to be treated.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0006377971
• ISBN 13: 9780006377979
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288