Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering [Hardcover]

Nicholas A. Cummings (Author), William T. O'Donohue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0415989639 | ISBN-13: 978-0415989633 | Edition: 1

After a period of economic success and high regard in society, clinical psychology has fallen onto hard times, assert authors Nicholas Cummings and William O’Donohue.  In the 1960s, clinical psychologists with doctorates were well paid in relation to comparable professions; today, starting salaries are lower than many jobs that require only a bachelor’s degree. Clinical psychology in the 1960s was preferred and valued over other fields as a profession; today it is not even on the list of top 20 fields for graduates to enter.  Psychologists’ opinions on social issues are disregarded by the public.  What was and continues to be the reason for the decline and continuing descent of clinical psychology?  The authors posit that the profession blundered and has not adapted to the profound changes that have taken place in American society over the past 40 years.  Psychotherapy practice is based on a 50-minute hour, yet mental health treatment must operate at a much briefer, more efficient pace.  Clinicians ignore the findings of scientific research for effective treatments and favor the overblown pronouncements of gurus who preach without substance.  Clinicians failed to adapt their practice to the needs of the healthcare industry and do not recognize that psychotherapy is health profession.  An anti-business bias has contributed to training programs that ignore the economic realities of running a practice.  The failure to secure prescription privileges, the invention of diagnoses, and political correctness are among the other blunders that pull the profession away from its primary mission -- mental health treatment -- and contribute to the low esteem in which psychologists are held.  The authors enumerate and discuss the Eleven Blunders That Cripple Psychotherapy in America and offer remedies to correct the ongoing decline of the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...psychologists who participate in the health care system may want to turn to this provocative volume to stimulate our thinking as we chart our role in our own future.Eleven Blunders That Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering is likely to be of greatest interest to psychologists who participate in...organizations that will influence the direction, form, and implementation of mental health's place within health care reform...Cummings's vsion has historically been bold, and this volume is no exception."

- Jean Carter, Ph.D., PsychCRITIQUES

 

About the Author

Nicholas A. Cummings, Ph.D., Sc.D., is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology, and President, Foundation for Behavioral Health at the University of Nevada at Reno.  Dr. Cummings is a Past-President of the American Psychological Association.

William T. O’Donohue, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in Nevada. He is a full professor of clinical psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno, and a member of the Association for the Advancement for Behavior Therapy. He has edited over thirty books, co-authored three books, and published more than one hundred articles in scholarly journals. 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (April 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415989639
• ISBN-13: 978-0415989633
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good historical information; but too much "daddy is the greatest", August 8, 2010

By 

R. R. Hixson (Eagle Pass, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering (Hardcover)

This book was written by Nicholas Cummings daughter and it was slanted in that frame of reference. No dirty laundry, all good stuff daddy did, which is true, but I would have preferred a more journalistic approach. Too self serving.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why has psychotherapy faltered so much in the past four decades?, July 13, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering (Hardcover)

Why has psychotherapy faltered so much in the past four decades? "Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering" seeks to answer that question and turn the profession's fate as a whole around for the future. With plans to restore the faith in modern psychotherapy and condemnation for those who have brought it down, "Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America" is a complete and comprehensive examination of the issue. Deftly composed, "Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America" is highly recommended for college library psychology collections.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What else does this book get wrong?, October 23, 2011

By 

Les Posen (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America: A Remedial Unblundering (Hardcover)

In the preface, comparing Australian with American health systems, arguing Australia's is far behind the US, the authors are incredibly wrong and poorly researched. With Australia's national health scheme, access to psychology services for all has vastly improved since 2006, before this book was written.

The authors state: "The Sunday, September 16, 2007, edition of the daily newspaper The Australian carried a story by its medical reporter Clara Pirani, "Medicare for Mental Health Displaces Counsellors." In Australia there are only about 1,200 psychologists, while there are 17,000 counselors. She writes, "People are waiting up to 16 to 20 weeks for an appointment with a psychologist." Australia has universal government-sponsored healthcare. A recent rule termed Better Access to Mental Health, designed to increase access, has worsened the situation because it so often restricts referral to psychologists only, not counselors. The intention was to improve care because counselors are not equipped to treat the more serious conditions, such as bipolar disorder. This is just an example of how far behind us Australia is." (p.xxxvii)

Utter nonsense. Australia at the time had in excess of 20,000 psychologists, and a state by state (now national) registration scheme to ensure some measure of quality control. Counsellors has self-regulating organisations but no approved and consistent training standards. Moreover, the Better Access scheme was not designed to offer long-term psychotherapy, but brief, evidence-based treatments for the following disorders of prevalence:

Psychotic disorders

Schizophrenia

Bipolar disorder

Phobic disorders

Anxiety disorder

Adjustment disorder

Depression

Sexual disorders

Conduct disorder

Bereavement disorders

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Eating disorders

Panic disorder

Alcohol use disorders

Drug use disorders

Sleep problems

Attention deficit disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder

Co-occurring anxiety and depression

Perhaps the group of 1200 being referred to was clinical psychologists, and the counsellors being 17,000 generalist psychologists who are also part of the Better Access scheme, albeit rebated at a lower rate.

I'm happy for books such as this to challenge the status quo and see improvement to care occur, but not at the expense of factual information.