Politics and psyche

Can psychotherapists make a difference?

Abstract

This is a lightly edited version of the transcript of the keynote address given at the annual conference of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists held in Christchurch in February 1997.

The paper divides into five sections. the first section is called 'We've had 100 Years of Psychotherapy Wanting to Improve the World but it Stayed Pretty Much the Same.' Many therapists know of Hillman and Ventura's book We've had 100 Years of Psychotherapy but the World is Getting Worse. However, therapists displaying concern about politics is not a new phenomenon.

The second section is called 'Grounds for a Cautiously Optimistic Prognosis.' The third is on 'The Economic Psyche' and the fourth is on 'The Political Self.' Finally, there is a section called 'Citizens as Therapists.' The first two sections are the more academic part of the paper but set the scene for the fun and games of the last three sections. One earns the right to experiment!