The name R. D. Laing continues to be widely recognized by those in the psychotherapy community in the United States and Europe. Laing’s books are a testament to his breadth of interests, including the understanding of madness, alternatives to conventional psychiatric treatment, existential philosophy and therapy, family systems, cybernetics, mysticism, and poetry. He is most remembered for his devastating critique of psychiatric practices and his controversial rejection of the concept of ‘mental illness.’
Key Features
- Composed by thinkers and practitioners who knew Laing intimately.
- Offers a perspective and balance to Laing’s controversial ideas.
- Addresses the question of who Laing was and his influence on contemporary psychiatry.
- Explores alternatives to psychiatry inspired by Laing’s work.
- Provides insight into the experiences of his patients and friends.
Additional Information
Most of the books that have been published about Laing have been written by people who did not know him personally and were unfamiliar with Laing the man and teacher. This collection of papers brings a perspective and balance to Laing’s controversial ideas, some of which were never addressed in his books. There has never been a collection of papers that address so thoroughly the question of who Laing was and why he became the most famous psychiatrist in the world.
The Legacy of R. D. Laing will ensure the reader has a keen grasp of who Laing was, what it was like to be his patient or his friend, and why his thinking was far ahead of its time, even in the radical era of the 1970s. It is timely to appraise the nature of his contribution and bring Laing back into contemporary conversations about the nature of sanity and madness, and more humane approaches to helping those in profound mental distress.
Specifications
This book offers an in-depth insight into the work of R. D. Laing. It will be a must-read for psychoanalysts and those interested in modern psychiatric practices.
