The Crucible of Experience: R. D. Laing and the Crisis of Psychotherapy [Hardcover]

Daniel Burston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2000

One of the great rebels of psychiatry, R. D. Laing challenged prevailing models of madness and the nature and limits of psychiatric authority. In this brief and lucid book, Laing's widely praised biographer distills the essence of Laing's vision, which was religious and philosophical as well as psychological.

The Crucible of Experience reveals Laing's philosophical debts to existentialism and phenomenology in his theories of madness and sanity, family theory and family therapy. Daniel Burston offers the first detailed account of Laing's practice as a therapist and of his relationships--often contentious--with his friends and sometime disciples. Burston carefully differentiates between Laing and "Laingians," who were often clearer, more confident, and more simplistic than their teacher.

While he examines Laing's theories of madness, Burston focuses most provocatively on Laing's views of sanity and normality and on his recognition, toward the end of his life, of the essential place of holiness in human experience. In a powerful last chapter, Burston shows that Laing foresaw the present commercialization of medicine and asked pointed questions about what the meaning of sanity and the future of psychotherapy in such a world could be. In this, as in other matters, Laing's questions of a generation ago remain questions for our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In his latest work, Burston (psychology, Duquesne Univ.) again tackles maverick psychotherapist R.D. Laing, seeking to restoreDor at least polishDhis legacy as he did in The Wing of Madness (LJ 8/96). Whereas that work was primarily a biography, this fairly short effort focuses more on Laing's work and its philosophical and ideological underpinnings. To this end, Burston includes a short biographical sketch, then offers a lengthy discussion of Laing's ideas in the context of mid-20th-century psychoanalytic and intellectual thought. He devotes chapters to Laing's ideological relationship to phenomenology and existentialism and to two of Laing's most controversial ideas: schizophrenia as an extreme response to a dysfunctional family situation and the problematic nature of defining "normalcy." While Burston is clearly a fan, his approach is evenhanded, acknowledging both the many innovations and the contradictions of Laing's work. This serious attempt to position Laing in the canon of great 20th-century psychoanalytic minds is recommended for large public and academic libraries.DDavid Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., Federal Way, Washington
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Daniel Burston is one of the most thoughtful and perceptive scholars writing today about the history of psychoanalysis. He uses his broad, multi-disciplinary knowledge to provide keen insights into the discipline and its major figures, thus making this book a valuable contribution to the contemporary intellectual and cultural history of the behavioral sciences.
--Deirdre Bair, author of Anais Nin: A Biography

Daniel Burston is a formidably equipped, scrupulous scholar, and one of the best contemporary writers on psychology. This book, like his admirable biography of R. D. Laing, is learned and stimulating as a work of scholarship, and will interest both philosophers and psychiatrists. More broadly, its arguments offer a welcome--and controversial--challenge to the currently dominant biological, antipsychological psychiatry.
--Dr. Anthony Storr

At last a book on R. D. Laing that concerns itself principally with his contributions to psychotherapeutic theory and practice. Daniel Burston's elegant analysis of Laing's interpretations of, and allegiance to, existential phenomenology is both balanced and provocative. As a reminder of why Laing continues to matter to contemporary psychotherapy, this text is indispensable.
--Ernesto Spinelli, School of Psychotherapy and Counseling, Regent's College (London)

Daniel Burston subjects R. D. Laing's theories and treatments of madness to an evaluation that is scholarly, dispassionate and scrupulously attentive to the facts while at the same time providing a thought-provoking and subtle account of one of the most complicated and talented of European psychiatrists. Laing's role as philosopher as well as psychotherapist is more thoroughly explored and assessed in this book than in the many books and essays that have already appeared devoted to the whole Laingian experience. It is an invaluable work for anyone eager to understand one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century.
--Anthony W. Clare, author of In the Psychiatrist's Chair, and On Men: Masculinity in Crisis

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; First Edition edition (May 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674002172
• ISBN-13: 978-0674002173
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading, but uneven, May 11, 2000

By 

whomi (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crucible of Experience: R. D. Laing and the Crisis of Psychotherapy (Hardcover)

Daniel Burston, a professor in the existential-phenomenological psychology program at Duquesne University and a respected Laing scholar, has put together a very well-written, interesting, but uneven work on the manifold ways in which Laing's thought can be connected with psychotherapy. After reading his excellent, rigorously intellectual biography of Laing, _The Wing of Madness_, I had expected to find in the _Crucible of Experience_ an equivalent depth of scholarly knowledge and clarity. And some sections of the book do possess this. The chapter on normality and the numinous, for instance, offers a very patient and careful teasing-apart of the many meanings of "normality" and how Laing treated these different meanings in his understandings of mental disorder. Other sections, however, were not as impressive. The chapter on Laing's roots in existentialism and phenomenology, for example, was far too reliant on secondary sources, and its summaries of the views of the various existential and phenomenological philosophers often felt curt and staccato. One more serious problem I had with this work was that it mostly ignored Laing's conceptualization of what he termed "knots:"- contradictory, paradoxical, and entangling patterns of relatedness that create vicious circles. (see Laing's own book _Knots_) From my perspective, "knots" are probably the most relevant element of Laing's thought for psychotherapy, thus, their omission is rather glaring. Overall, however, Burston's book is a well-written, enjoyable, and thoughtful journey through the labyrinths of Laing's thinking.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading, but uneven, May 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Crucible of Experience: R. D. Laing and the Crisis of Psychotherapy (Hardcover)

Daniel Burston, a professor in the existential-phenomenological psychology program at Duquesne University and a respected Laing scholar, has put together a very well-written, interesting, but uneven work on the manifold ways in which Laing's thought can be connected with psychotherapy. After reading his excellent, rigorously intellectual biography of Laing, _The Wing of Madness_, I had expected to find in the _Crucible of Experience_ an equivalent depth of scholarly knowledge and clarity. And some sections of the book do possess this. The chapter on normality and the numinous, for instance, offers a very patient and careful teasing-apart of the many meanings of "normality" and how Laing treated these different meanings in his understandings of mental disorder. Other sections, however, are not as impressive. The chapter on Laing's roots in existentialism and phenomenology, for example, is far too reliant on secondary sources, and its summaries of the views of the various existential and phenomenological philosophers often feel curt and staccato. One more serious problem I have with this work is that it mostly ignores Laing's conceptualization of what he termed "knots:"- contradictory, paradoxical, and entangling patterns of relatedness that create vicious circles. (see Laing's own book _Knots_) From my perspective, the notion of "knots" is probably the most relevant element of Laing's thought for psychotherapy, as the concept can richly describe and account for repetitive trauma, compulsions, "inner" conflict, and all sorts of other contradictory and circular patterns of interpersonal experience that therapists often run into. Therefore, to me, the omission of this concept is rather glaring. Overall, however, Burston's book is a well-written, enjoyable, and thoughtful journey through the labyrinths of Laing's thinking.