Book reviews
What is Madness? By Darian Leader
The state of psychoanalysis is in trouble. Those professionals trawling through the minds of others no longer take the time to know the 'whys' and the 'hows', they are more interested in the 'what', and then medicate til normal.
A quote from the introduction:
"However valid we might believe such conceptions of illness and health to be, we must surely take seriously the inner life and beliefs of each person and avoid imposing our world view on them. This is the difference between mental hygiene- in which we know what is best in advance for the patient- and psychotherapy- in which we don't. It is easy to miss the violence at play here, yet it is present each time we try to crush a patient's belief system by imposing a new system of values and polices on them. We could contrast this with an approach that looks not for the errors but the truth in each person's story to help them engage once again with life: not to adapt them to our reality, but to learn what their own reality consists of, and how this can be of use to them."
A very important book. Read it.
The Autistic Brain By Temple Grandin
A book that advocates listening- REALLY listening - to those with ASD.
FINALLY.
For far too long researchers have sat on their high horses and said they know best. So much of what is out there, calling itself research in to autism, is inaccurate and potentially dangerous. All these children diagnosed with ASD twenty, thirty years ago are now adults -so lets ask them what it's like being them. What a mine of information to learn from!
I believe so many researchers are afraid of self-reports as those with ASD may just break every notion, stereotype and label those 'experts' made for them.
About time.
The state of psychoanalysis is in trouble. Those professionals trawling through the minds of others no longer take the time to know the 'whys' and the 'hows', they are more interested in the 'what', and then medicate til normal.
A quote from the introduction:
"However valid we might believe such conceptions of illness and health to be, we must surely take seriously the inner life and beliefs of each person and avoid imposing our world view on them. This is the difference between mental hygiene- in which we know what is best in advance for the patient- and psychotherapy- in which we don't. It is easy to miss the violence at play here, yet it is present each time we try to crush a patient's belief system by imposing a new system of values and polices on them. We could contrast this with an approach that looks not for the errors but the truth in each person's story to help them engage once again with life: not to adapt them to our reality, but to learn what their own reality consists of, and how this can be of use to them."
A very important book. Read it.
The Autistic Brain By Temple Grandin
A book that advocates listening- REALLY listening - to those with ASD.
FINALLY.
For far too long researchers have sat on their high horses and said they know best. So much of what is out there, calling itself research in to autism, is inaccurate and potentially dangerous. All these children diagnosed with ASD twenty, thirty years ago are now adults -so lets ask them what it's like being them. What a mine of information to learn from!
I believe so many researchers are afraid of self-reports as those with ASD may just break every notion, stereotype and label those 'experts' made for them.
About time.