Therapeutic Ethics in Context and in Dialogue (Advances in Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology)

The standard view of psychotherapy as a treatment for mental disorders can obscure how therapy functions as a social practice that promotes conceptions of human well-being. Building on the philosophy of Charles Taylor, Smith examines the link between therapy and ethics, and the roots of therapeutic aims in modern Western ideas about living well. This volume builds on a complementary volume (__The Ethical Visions of Psychotherapy__), to explore therapeutic conceptions of human flourishing. Smith illustrates how therapeutic aims implicitly promote ideas about a good life, even though therapists rarely tell their patients how they should live. Taylor’s history of the modern identity provides a framework to examine the historical and cultural origins of therapeutic ethics. Utilizing Taylor’s work on practical reasoning and ethical debate, Smith considers the prospects for dialogue between the divergent ethical visions promoted by different psychotherapies. A key text for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduate students, and professionals in the fields of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, theoretical psychology, and philosophy of mind. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgments Series Foreword Chapter 1 Introduction: Sources of Therapeutic Ethics and the Prospects for Dialogue Chapter 2 Therapy Against Ethics and the Ethics of Therapy Easing Ethical Demands The Ethics of Therapy Understanding Therapeutic Ethics Notes Chapter 3 Therapeutic Ethics and Charles Taylor’s History of the Modern Identity Introduction Inwardness as Rational Self-Mastery: The Influence of Descartes and Locke Inwardness as Self-Exploration and Personal Particularity Disengagement, Social Discipline, and the Modern Buffered Self The Affirmation of Ordinary Life and the Therapeutic Ethic of Intimate Emotional Bonds Deism The Importance of the Particular in the Novel and Painting The Companionate Marriage The Voice of Nature: Pleasure, Desire, and Attunement to a Complex Inner Life Expressivism: Particularity and the True Self Post-Romantic Transformations: Darkness Within and the Decline of Self and Meaning Ethical Aims in Socio-Historical Context Notes Chapter 4 From the Ethics of Therapy to Ethical Dialogue Conflicting Ideas About Flourishing Ethical Reasoning Ethical Transitions in Therapy Arguing for the Ethics of a Therapy: Practice and Narrative Contrasting Ethics in Dialogue Psychotherapy and Ethics Notes Appendix: Charles Taylor for Therapists: A Brief Introduction Notes References Index "The standard view of psychotherapy as a treatment for mental disorders can obscure how therapy functions as a social practice that promotes conceptions of human well-being. Building on the philosophy of Charles Taylor, Smith examines the link between therapy and ethics, and the roots of therapeutic aims in modern Western ideas about living well. This volume builds on a complementary volume (The Ethical Visions of Psychotherapy) to explore therapeutic conceptions of human flourishing. Smith illustrates how therapeutic aims implicitly promote ideas about a good life, even though therapists rarely tell their patients how they should live. Taylor's history of the modern identity provides a framework to examine the historical and cultural origins of therapeutic ethics. Utilizing Taylor's work on practical reasoning and ethical debate, Smith considers the prospects for dialogue between the divergent ethical visions promoted by different psychotherapies. A key text for upper level undergraduates, postgraduate students, and professionals in the fields of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, theoretical psychology, and philosophy of mind"-- Provided by publisher The standard view of psychotherapy as a treatment for mental disorders can obscure how therapy functions as a social practice that promotes conceptions of human well-being. Building on the philosophy of Charles Taylor, Smith examines the link between therapy and ethics and its aims in modern Western ideas about living well.