Psychological Healing: Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Professional Psychology

This book is intended as a text in the history and philosophy of professional psychology. It takes a broad view of psychological healing and traces the history of this endeavor from prehistoric times down to the present. The story should be useful not only to graduate students in professional psychology but to others in the psycho-social or behavioral health fields. It emphasizes the importance of multicultural and diversity issues by covering a wide swath of relevant world history to help students understand the cultural matrix that is behind the many people we serve. America is a nation of immigrants and they bring with them the legacy of their varied backgrounds. A major metaphor is the stream of transmission. We practice based on what our teachers knew we improve upon them and in turn pass them on to our students. This extended lineage of psychological healing can be summed in four archetypal roles: the shaman and priest the physician the teacher and the scientist. Modern professional psychology incorporates all of those and this book seeks to tell that story. Paul Larson astutely unfolds this project with Aristotelian phronesis: translating history for situational practice in the contemporary role transformation of psychologists as health service professionals. Larsons work explicates how this will happen by beautifully tying together history critical thinking and pragmatics so the reader can experience the history and systems of psychology as T. S. Eliot would have it: to arrive where we started and know it for the first time. Bravo! --Todd DuBose Chicago School of Professional Psychology Psychological Healing is a remarkable unique contribution to the historical tradition of psychology. Larson has chosen to emphasize a number of themes and traditions in psychology that are overlooked by the vast majority of textbooks on the history of psychology. In particular he has presented a vision of the history of psychology that presents its heart in discussing its origins in spirituality pioneers of its clinical traditions and many other topics--like humanistic psychology--that have rarely been written about in such an insightful and compelling way. --Ian E. Wickramasekera II PsyD Naropa University Boulder Colorado Paul C. Larson is Professor of Psychology in the Clinical Psychology program of the Chicago campus of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He is a Diplomate in Counseling Psychology American Board of Professional Psychology. His specialties are the history and philosophy of psychology clinical health and rehabilitation psychology and the psychology of religion and spirituality.