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Towards Learning and Instruction in Web 3.0: Advances in Cognitive and Educational Psychology
by Pedro Isaias Dirk Ifenthaler Demetrios G. Sampson J. Michael SpectorTowards Learning and instruction in Web 3.0, which includes selected expanded papers from CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2010 (http://www.celda-conf.org/) addresses the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes, innovative pedagogies, and technology-based educational applications in the digital age. The convergence of these two disciplines continues to increase and in turn, affects the academic and professional spheres in numerous ways. Towards Learning and Instruction in Web 3.0 addresses paradigms such as just-in-time learning, constructivism, student-centered learning and collaborative approaches which have emerged and are being supported by technological advancements such as simulations,virtual reality and multi-agents systems. This volume touches on both technological as well as psychological and pedagogical issues related to the developments of Web 3.0.
Towards Knowledge in Writing: Illustrations from Revision Studies
by Jill FitzgeraldThis book reviews the shifting conceptions of writing and revision, noting the ways in which views of knowledge and knowing shape teaching and research. Fitzgerald, as a reading and writing researcher, recognizes that how we revise is shaped by how we read and respond to our unfolding texts. She argues that how we write and read is ultimately shaped by how we know-that is, how we seek to make sense of the world. How and why do we revise when we write? How do we differ in the extent or level of revisions due to differences in our purpose, mode of writing, perceptions of audience, or phase of development of our writing? What motivates us to revise-a need to clarify our expression, to rethink or alter our ideas, to influence our reader in certain ways, or to fulfill our own purposes? These questions have always intrigued composition theo rists and researchers; however, it is only in the past 15 years that researchers have seriously and systematically sought answers to these questions.
Towards Integration of Work and Learning: Strategies for Connectivity and Transformation
by Marja-Leena Stenström Päivi TynjäläMarja-Leena Stenstrom ¨ and Pai ¨ vi Tynjal ¨ a ¨ Changing Working Life as a Challenge to Education Recentmacro-leveltrends,suchaseconomicglobalisation,thedevelopmentofthe- formationsociety,changesinmethodsofproductionandtheorganisationofwork,and the growing signi?cance of knowledge as a factor of production, have created a new context for the relationship between education and working life. In this new context, the use of work experience as an educational and learning strategy has become one ofthemostimportantdevelopmentsbothinvocationaleducationandtraining(VET) and in higher education. Although the tradition of making work an integral part of education has varied at different levels of the educational system, the challenges that systems of education currently face are very similar in many respects. These include thechallengeofequivalenceasregardsthelevelofacademicstandards,thechallenge ofdevelopingpedagogicalpracticesfordifferentformsofwork-relatedlearning,and the impact that work-related learning has on the identity of the educational orga- sation, the teacher, and the learner. The diversity of the systems through which work experience is realised, the varying levels of training of workplace trainers, and the lack of industrial experience of vocational school teachers have aroused discussion abouthowtoguaranteeandassessthequalityofthelearningtakingplaceindifferent workplaces and of the work-based learning system as a whole. (See e. g. Boud & Solomon, 2001, p. 27; Grif?ths & Guile, 2004; Guile &Grif?ths, 2001. ) The key pedagogical question regarding collaboration between education and work is how to build a ?rm connection between theory and practice or abstract thinking and practical action – and between the development of general skills and speci?c vocational skills.
Towards Inclusive Societies: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives
by Dharmendra Nath TiwariTowards Inclusive Societies: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives focuses on the importance of building inclusive societies and communities for global human welfare within psychological, social, political, and cultural realms. It discusses the engagement of psychology and other social science disciplines on the need for building both cultural sensitivity and interdisciplinary dialogue. The volume presents the issues and consequences of globalization and diversity in the social and psychological domains and their role in shaping the physical and mental health of people. It systematically examines the various parameters of inclusivity such as equality, equity, social identity, social stigma, and coexistence of differences in socio-cultural behaviour. The volume focuses on the developments towards building inclusive societies in the South Asian countries including, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It also highlights the challenges and possibilities in making social-psychological discourses more inclusive. This book will be of interest to students, teachers, and scholars of psychology, cultural psychology, gender psychology, social psychology, sociology, and political science and social work. It will also be useful for psychologists, sociologists, social scientists, social workers, political scientists, and Gandhian philosophers.
Towards Inclusive Societies: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives
Towards Inclusive Societies: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives focuses on the importance of building inclusive societies and communities for global human welfare within psychological, social, political, and cultural realms. It discusses the engagement of psychology and other social science disciplines on the need for building both cultural sensitivity and interdisciplinary dialogue. The volume presents the issues and consequences of globalization and diversity in the social and psychological domains and their role in shaping the physical and mental health of people. It systematically examines the various parameters of inclusivity such as equality, equity, social identity, social stigma, and coexistence of differences in socio-cultural behaviour. The volume focuses on the developments towards building inclusive societies in the South Asian countries including, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It also highlights the challenges and possibilities in making social-psychological discourses more inclusive. This book will be of interest to students, teachers, and scholars of psychology, cultural psychology, gender psychology, social psychology, sociology, and political science and social work. It will also be useful for psychologists, sociologists, social scientists, social workers, political scientists, and Gandhian philosophers.
Towards Inclusive Organizations: Determinants of successful diversity management at work
by Sabine Otten Karen van der Zee Marilynn B. BrewerDiversity arising from the mixing of peoples from different cultural backgrounds has long been an issue in nations such as the United States and Australia, and in recent decades, European nations have reached unprecedented levels of cultural diversity due to increased migration. This phenomenon of increasing cultural diversity at the national level sets the context for current social science research on the consequences of diversity for social integration, institutional functioning, and interpersonal relationships. This book reviews theory and research in social and organizational psychology on the management of diversity in work organizations. The book shows how diversity management takes place across multiple levels: at a national level, at an organizational level, between work groups and teams, in interpersonal relations, and at the level of individual experiences. Each chapter summarizes relevant empirical research, and considers how the dynamics of workgroup relations are likely to be affected by cultural differences among group members. The contributors also describe the variables which organizational leadership should be sensitive to in designing and implementing policies and practices for inclusive organizations. Towards Inclusive Organizations will be essential reading for researchers and advanced students in social and organizational psychology.
Towards Inclusive Organizations: Determinants of successful diversity management at work
by Sabine Otten Karen van der Zee Marilynn B. BrewerDiversity arising from the mixing of peoples from different cultural backgrounds has long been an issue in nations such as the United States and Australia, and in recent decades, European nations have reached unprecedented levels of cultural diversity due to increased migration. This phenomenon of increasing cultural diversity at the national level sets the context for current social science research on the consequences of diversity for social integration, institutional functioning, and interpersonal relationships. This book reviews theory and research in social and organizational psychology on the management of diversity in work organizations. The book shows how diversity management takes place across multiple levels: at a national level, at an organizational level, between work groups and teams, in interpersonal relations, and at the level of individual experiences. Each chapter summarizes relevant empirical research, and considers how the dynamics of workgroup relations are likely to be affected by cultural differences among group members. The contributors also describe the variables which organizational leadership should be sensitive to in designing and implementing policies and practices for inclusive organizations. Towards Inclusive Organizations will be essential reading for researchers and advanced students in social and organizational psychology.
Towards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter: A Lacanian Perspective
by Colette SolerTowards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter addresses the theme of identification and identity in the psychoanalytic clinic as elaborated by Jacques Lacan over the course of his teaching. In psychoanalysis, the subject who is summoned “to speak himself” is by definition lacking in identity. His question is “What am I?” but, as he is only represented by his words, his being is “always elsewhere”, within other words that are yet to come. Thus a paradox: one seeks via speech the identity of a being who, through his speech, is not identifiable. Yet the fact remains, he has a body, and he is riveted to sufferings that psychoanalysis, from Freud to Lacan, identified, which are not accidental, which we call repetition and symptom, and which shift the question of identity because a One, real, is at play in them. Towards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter will be key reading for the study and research of Lacanian psychoanalysis and all practitioners interested in Lacan’s teaching, as well as other discourses such as philosophy, art, literature and history.
Towards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter: A Lacanian Perspective
by Colette SolerTowards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter addresses the theme of identification and identity in the psychoanalytic clinic as elaborated by Jacques Lacan over the course of his teaching. In psychoanalysis, the subject who is summoned “to speak himself” is by definition lacking in identity. His question is “What am I?” but, as he is only represented by his words, his being is “always elsewhere”, within other words that are yet to come. Thus a paradox: one seeks via speech the identity of a being who, through his speech, is not identifiable. Yet the fact remains, he has a body, and he is riveted to sufferings that psychoanalysis, from Freud to Lacan, identified, which are not accidental, which we call repetition and symptom, and which shift the question of identity because a One, real, is at play in them. Towards Identity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter will be key reading for the study and research of Lacanian psychoanalysis and all practitioners interested in Lacan’s teaching, as well as other discourses such as philosophy, art, literature and history.
Towards Happiness — A Psychoanalytic Approach to Finding Your Way
by Ahron Friedberg Sandra ShermanDrawing on a range of clinical cases, Towards Happiness presents an engaging, insightful look at how we define and achieve happiness in core aspects of our lives: work and money, wellness and personal growth, sex and love, family and friendship, and aging. The book includes a series of essays by Dr. Ahron Friedberg, a prominent Manhattan psychiatrist, concerning how his patients sought to achieve greater happiness during challenging periods of their lives, and how as a consequence they grew personally and professionally. Each chapter considers a core topic through the lens of Dr. Friedberg’s practice, demonstrating how patients worked through difficult, sometimes chronic personal issues. Throughout, there are useful summaries of key points. While candidly acknowledging that each life is different, Towards Happiness offers practical examples that can enhance readers’ efforts to achieve greater levels of happiness and reorient their lives towards a deeper capacity for happiness. Towards Happiness offers honest insights into the compromises, sacrifices, and resulting degrees of success that characterize pursuing happiness, and will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, and other mental health professionals. It will also be useful reading for anyone seeking to understand the achievement of happiness in their own lives.
Towards Happiness — A Psychoanalytic Approach to Finding Your Way
by Ahron Friedberg Sandra ShermanDrawing on a range of clinical cases, Towards Happiness presents an engaging, insightful look at how we define and achieve happiness in core aspects of our lives: work and money, wellness and personal growth, sex and love, family and friendship, and aging. The book includes a series of essays by Dr. Ahron Friedberg, a prominent Manhattan psychiatrist, concerning how his patients sought to achieve greater happiness during challenging periods of their lives, and how as a consequence they grew personally and professionally. Each chapter considers a core topic through the lens of Dr. Friedberg’s practice, demonstrating how patients worked through difficult, sometimes chronic personal issues. Throughout, there are useful summaries of key points. While candidly acknowledging that each life is different, Towards Happiness offers practical examples that can enhance readers’ efforts to achieve greater levels of happiness and reorient their lives towards a deeper capacity for happiness. Towards Happiness offers honest insights into the compromises, sacrifices, and resulting degrees of success that characterize pursuing happiness, and will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, and other mental health professionals. It will also be useful reading for anyone seeking to understand the achievement of happiness in their own lives.
Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion: Principles, Approaches, Applications
by Jacob A. van BelzenThe aims pursued in this book are quite modest. The text is not an introduction in the traditional sense to any psychological subdiscipline or field of application, nor does it present anything essentially new. Rather, it shows ‘work in progress’, as it attempts to contribute to an integration of two differently structured, but already existing fields within psychology. In order to explain this, it is probably best to say a few words about how the book came into being and about what it hopes to achieve. As a project, the volume owes very much to others. While lecturing in places ranging from South Africa to Canada and from California through European co- tries to Korea, colleagues have often urged me to come up with a volume on ‘c- tural psychology of religion’. For reasons that should become clear in the text, I feel uncomfortable with such a demand. To my understanding, there exists no single cultural psychology of religion. Rather, there are ever expanding numbers of div- gent types of psychologies, some of which are applied to understanding religious aspects of human lives or to researching specific religious phenomena, while others are not. Within this heterogeneous field that is, correctly or not, still designated as ‘psychology’, there are also many approaches that are sometimes referred to as ‘cultural psychology’ or as ‘culturally sensitive psychologies’. It would be wor- while applying many of these to research on religious phenomena, but at present not too many are in fact so applied.
Towards Critical Environmental Education: Current and Future Perspectives (Critical Studies of Education #14)
by Aristotelis S. Gkiolmas Constantine D. SkordoulisThis volume discusses theory, philosophy, praxis and methods in Environmental and Ecological education, and considers the junction with the main visions and issues of Critical Pedagogy. The volume and its separate chapters address four axes, which can also be seen as the guidelines of the content as well as the central objectives of the book.The first axis concerns the missing theoretical and practical pieces at this point in time. The volume considers the issues that are not included in contemporary Environmental Education, and thus, deprive it from critical orientations. This implies that in Environmental Education, very little discussion exists about the political, economic, racial, gender and class issues that in most cases govern the actions of leaders and stake-holders. The second axis concerns what has been done so far and in what directions. This involves descriptions of theoretical approaches or actual applied methodologies in the classroom, such as curricula or syllabus used or the kind of actions certain educators have taken to infuse the issues of justice and critical reflection within the Environmental Education teaching agenda. The third axis examines proposals. It looks at ways to enrich domains of Environmental Education with the argumentations of Critical Pedagogy. The fourth axis concerns the way in which proposals can be effectuated. This part contains specific methodologies and teaching sequences, depicting ways of including major aspects of Critical Pedagogy and Critical Education in Environmental Education. Examples are: Non-anthropocentric ecological approaches in the classroom, political activism in the Curricula, mixture of field activities and political activities.
Towards Belonging: Negotiating New Relationships for Adopted Children and Those in Care (Tavistock Clinic Series)
by Andrew BriggsThis book includes contributions from a wide range of interested observers and practitioners in the field of children in care and adoption, focusing on a core aspect of their emotional well-being and mental health. It focuses in particular on psychoanalytic, systemic and attachment theory approaches to the question of 'belonging': can these children allow themselves to belong to their new families, and also can these new families allow themselves to belong to these children? Highly innovative clinical work with these children in various settings is discussed alongside chapters that provide thought-provoking commentaries from practitioners surveying the often extremely disturbing societal and systemic landscape for the emotional lives of these children. The book is written to be accessible to clinicians, practitioners, researchers, policy advisors and students of all disciplines who have an interest in or brief to work with fostered and adopted children. It is hoped that the book will be used for teaching purposes on courses qualifying professionals across the child development, mental health and social care spectrum.
Towards Belonging: Negotiating New Relationships for Adopted Children and Those in Care (Tavistock Clinic Series)
by Andrew BriggsThis book explores what a sense of belonging—its components and state—means for the adopted children and those in care. It contributes to reader's understanding of these children's emotional well-being, mental health, and potential for success in life through education and beyond.
Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept (Educational Linguistics #12)
by Sarah MercerThis book contributes to our growing understanding of the nature and development of language learner self-concept. It assesses the relevant literature in the disciplines of psychology and applied linguistics and describes in-depth, qualitative research examining the self-concepts of tertiary-level EFL learners. Although researchers in applied linguistics and SLA have recognized the importance of self-constructs, there remains little empirical work in the context of foreign language learning that focuses exclusively and at length on this central psychological construct. The content of this monograph draws on interdisciplinary sources, with input from psychology and applied linguistics. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in language-learner psychology as well as self-related constructs in general. The text provides insights into how learners view themselves, and how these self-beliefs can develop and affect the progress of an individual’s language learning.
Towards an Integrative Psychological Science: Issues, Approaches and Applications
by R. C. Tripathi Bhoomika R. Kar Namita PandeThis edited volume examines the new ways of conceptualizing Psychology as an integrative science to understand human problems at the individual, group, societal, and national levels. It focuses on the need for Psychology to move away from its present reductionist perspective to an integrative psychological science perspective. The volume is organized into three main sections: The first discusses the convergence of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches in Psychology. The second part highlights the importance of social and personal wellness. The third focuses on studying human behaviour in the context of cultural variations and the impact of cultural context on psychological processes. The book includes contributions from leading scholars in psychology in India whose reference to practical, social and political issues of contemporary interest makes the volume stand out. This book serves as a resource to initiate the dialogue about the need, issues, levels, and integration methods in Psychology, which can be scientifically tested and theoretically explained. The comprehensive and authoritative volume is of interest to researchers and scholars in cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, organizational psychology, social psychology and cross-cultural psychology.
Towards an Ecopsychotherapy
by Mary-Jayne RustPsychotherapy invites us to tell the story of our human relationships; ecopsychotherapy expands this to include our earth story, the context or continuum in which our human relationships sit. Ecopsychotherapy is not simply a technique to be applied in therapy: it involves a change in perspective. While practising therapy outdoors is a radical shift that can support and facilitate the healing process, it also acknowledges that our relationship with the earth is both inside and outside ourselves. As climate chaos quickens and increasing numbers of people are waking up to the seriousness of our environmental crisis, we are becoming more aware of our dysfunctional relationship with the earth – the body on whom we depend for everything. Ecopsychotherapy can help to support our reconnection with nature and to discover hope in turbulent times.“If psychotherapy is to remain relevant, it must change and recognize that we exist as part of, not apart from, Nature. I trust Mary-Jayne Rust more than anyone else to guide us there.” Jerome Bernstein, Jungian Analyst, author of Living in the Borderland“In her characteristic style, Mary-Jayne presents ecopsychotherapy in an incisive way, with her richness of experience bringing the subject to life. This thought-provoking book touches on the heart of controversies in this field – our need to grow new terminology – and to actively ensure our spaces are inclusive. This is an invaluable introduction to ecopsychotherapy and is also sure to deepen the work of more seasoned practitioners.”Emma Palmer, Body psychotherapist, BACP-accredited counsellor, ecopsychologist, supervisor, trainer and author of Other Than Mother“Mary-Jayne Rust has written an important work which broadens the field of psychotherapy to include our inherent connectedness to the more-than-human world. She provides a succinct, heartfelt overview of ecopsychotherapy. Given the current state of global environmental destruction, the wisdom in this book is needed now more than ever.” Jeffrey T Kiehl, Jungian analyst, climate scientist, author of Facing Climate Change
Towards a Transtheoretical Definition of Countertransference: Re-visioning the Clinician's Intersubjective Experience (Explorations in Mental Health)
by Rudy RomanThis book explores the analyst’s countertransference experience in clinical settings from a number of theoretical perspectives in order to develop a transtheoretical definition of countertransference. Stemming from an examination of the definition of countertransference itself, the author utilizes a philosophical hermeneutic approach to ask how pathological countertransference develops, how analysts separate themselves from the patient’s experience, and what analysts should do to prevent their countertransference response from interfering with treatment. Through the unique hermeneutic methodology, philosophical themes within selected writings are explored as a way of gaining a deeper meaning and understanding of countertransference. By re-interpreting these selected writings in a new light, the book develops a transtheoretical definition and approach to countertransference. As such, the author offers a timely reassessment of the meaning and understanding of countertransference as it has evolved over the past century, going from being considered an obstacle to treatment brought on by the analyst’s unconscious conflicts to being understood as a way of communicating and understanding the patient’s unconscious material. It also provides a unique pathway through various depth psychological, therapeutic, and theoretical approaches to countertransference, foregrounding the significance and therapeutic value of the concept and seeking a new transtheoretical definition. This volume will appeal to scholars and researchers of psychology and mental health.
Towards a Transtheoretical Definition of Countertransference: Re-visioning the Clinician's Intersubjective Experience (Explorations in Mental Health)
by Rudy RomanThis book explores the analyst’s countertransference experience in clinical settings from a number of theoretical perspectives in order to develop a transtheoretical definition of countertransference. Stemming from an examination of the definition of countertransference itself, the author utilizes a philosophical hermeneutic approach to ask how pathological countertransference develops, how analysts separate themselves from the patient’s experience, and what analysts should do to prevent their countertransference response from interfering with treatment. Through the unique hermeneutic methodology, philosophical themes within selected writings are explored as a way of gaining a deeper meaning and understanding of countertransference. By re-interpreting these selected writings in a new light, the book develops a transtheoretical definition and approach to countertransference. As such, the author offers a timely reassessment of the meaning and understanding of countertransference as it has evolved over the past century, going from being considered an obstacle to treatment brought on by the analyst’s unconscious conflicts to being understood as a way of communicating and understanding the patient’s unconscious material. It also provides a unique pathway through various depth psychological, therapeutic, and theoretical approaches to countertransference, foregrounding the significance and therapeutic value of the concept and seeking a new transtheoretical definition. This volume will appeal to scholars and researchers of psychology and mental health.
Towards a Theory of Thinking: Building Blocks for a Conceptual Framework (On Thinking)
by Britt M. Glatzeder Vinod Goel Albrecht MüllerWhat is Thinking? – Trying to Define an Equally Fascinating and Elusive Phenomenon Human thinking is probably the most complex phenomenon that evolution has come up with until now. There exists a broad spectrum of definitions, from subs- ing almost all processes of cognition to limiting it to language-based, sometimes even only to formalizable reasoning processes. We work with a “medium sized” definition according to which thinking encompasses all operations by which cog- tive agents link mental content in order to gain new insights or perspectives. Mental content is, thus, a prerequisite for and the substrate on which thinking operations are executed. The largely unconscious acts of perceptual object stabilization, ca- gorization, emotional evaluation – and retrieving all the above from memory inscriptions – are the processes by which mental content is generated, and are, therefore, seen as prerequisites for thinking operations. In terms of a differentia specifica, the notion of “thinking” is seen as narrower than the notion of “cognition” and as wider than the notion of “reasoning”. Thinking is, thus, seen as a subset of cognition processes; and reasoning processes are seen as a subset of thinking. Besides reasoning, the notion of thinking includes also nonexplicit, intuitive, and associative processes of linking mental content. According to this definition, thinking is not dependant on language, i. e. also many animals and certainly all mammals show early forms of thinking.
Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience: from Cell Chemistry to Cognition (Springer Series in Cognitive and Neural Systems #8)
by L Andrew CowardThe book explains how to understand cognition in terms of brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry, using an approach adapted from techniques for understanding complex electronic systems. These techniques create hierarchies of information process based descriptions on different levels of detail, where higher levels contain less information and can therefore describe complete cognitive phenomena, but are more approximate. The nature of the approximations are well understood, and more approximate higher level descriptions can therefore be mapped to more precise detailed descriptions of any part of a phenomenon as required. Cognitive phenomena, the anatomy and connectivity of major brain structures, neuron physiology, and cellular chemistry are reviewed. Various cognitive tasks are described in terms of information processes performed by different major anatomical structures. These higher level descriptions are selectively mapped to more detailed physiological and chemical levels.
Towards a Sociology of Cancer Caregiving: Time to Feel
by Rebecca E. OlsonOnce a synonym for death, cancer is now a prognosis of multiple probabilities and produces a world of uncertainty for carers. Drawing on rich, in-depth interview data and employing interactionist theories, Towards a Sociology of Cancer Caregiving explores carers' lived experiences, paying close attention to the ways in which spouse carers manage the ambiguity that pervades their orientations to the future, their responsibilities and their emotions. A detailed exploration of the temporal and emotional journeys of spouse carers of cancer patients, this volume raises and responds to new questions about how to conceptualise informal caregiving, offering a fresh theorisation of the uncertainty that now characterises cancer. As such, it will appeal to scholars of the sociologies of emotion, time and identity, and all those interested in the question of how to support informal carers.
Towards a Sociology of Cancer Caregiving: Time to Feel
by Rebecca E. OlsonOnce a synonym for death, cancer is now a prognosis of multiple probabilities and produces a world of uncertainty for carers. Drawing on rich, in-depth interview data and employing interactionist theories, Towards a Sociology of Cancer Caregiving explores carers' lived experiences, paying close attention to the ways in which spouse carers manage the ambiguity that pervades their orientations to the future, their responsibilities and their emotions. A detailed exploration of the temporal and emotional journeys of spouse carers of cancer patients, this volume raises and responds to new questions about how to conceptualise informal caregiving, offering a fresh theorisation of the uncertainty that now characterises cancer. As such, it will appeal to scholars of the sociologies of emotion, time and identity, and all those interested in the question of how to support informal carers.
Towards a Radical Redefinition of Psychology: The selected works of Miller Mair (World Library of Mental Health)
by Miller MairThe World Library of Mental Health celebrates the important contributions to mental health made by leading experts in their individual fields. Each author has compiled a career-long collection of what they consider to be their finest pieces: extracts from books, journals, articles, major theoretical and practical contributions, and salient research findings. Miller Mair, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, devoted his life to developing a psychology that provided a radical alternative to the behavioural, and latterly cognitive-behavioural, approaches that have dominated the field. He presented this work in a wide range of publications and conference papers, and prior to his untimely death in 2011 he had selected a number of these for a volume of his collected works. This book is based upon Miller’s selection, and includes several previously unpublished papers as well as others that are now out of print. Miller was considerably influenced by George Kelly’s personal construct psychology, as is apparent in most of his writings. However, his papers on psychology and psychotherapy also draw upon an extraordinarily wide range of other fields of knowledge, including imagery; metaphor; storytelling and narrative; rhetoric; discourse and conversation; poetry; and spirituality. These concerns are reflected in the contributions selected for this volume, which also demonstrate the variation in his style of writing from the more conventionally academic to the personal and poetic as he developed a ‘poetics of experience’ and a stance of ‘conversational inquiry’. Miller’s final publication was entitled ‘Enchanting psychology’, and it is hoped that this volume will provide an antidote to the disenchantment that many readers may feel with mechanistic and reductionist approaches in psychology and its clinical applications, and more generally in health service rhetoric and policies. As these writings vividly demonstrate, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist can, and should, also be a poet, artist, and storyteller. The volume will be of value to readers previously unfamiliar with Miller’s ideas, but also to those who know his work, who will find here the first published selection of his papers.