This book demonstrates how what we own can control us - the terminal stage of the social disease of acquisitive desire for material things. Topics covered include: what acquisitive desire means in people's lives; diagnosis and treatment of consumer disorders; interventions and clinical issues for those who follow an excessively materialistic lifestyle; how therapists and therapy are treated as possessions to flaunt; and the struggles of therapists with their own acquisitive desires. Jeffrey Kottler does not recommend giving up all attachment to things, but makes clear that satisfaction comes not from owning possessions, but from their legitimate use for amusement, stimulation or learning.
Jeffrey A. Kottler has authored over 65 books in the field for counselors, therapists, teachers, and the public, including COMPASSIONATE THERAPY: WORKING WITH DIFFICULT CLIENTS; ON BEING A THERAPIST; COUNSELORS FINDING THEIR WAY; MAKING CHANGES LAST; COUNSELING SKILLS FOR TEACHERS; DIVINE MADNESS: TEN STORIES OF CREATIVE STRUGGLE; BAD THERAPY: MASTER THERAPISTS SHARE THEIR WORST FAILURES; THE CLIENT WHO CHANGED ME: STORIES OF THERAPIST PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION; and THE MUMMY AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE: EMINENT THERAPISTS REVEAL THEIR MOST UNUSUAL CASES AND WHAT THEY TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
Jeffrey has worked as a teacher, counselor, and therapist in a preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, university, community college, and private practice. He has served as a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Lecturer in Peru and Iceland, teaching counseling theory and practice. He has also served as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Nepal. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Counseling Department at California State University, Fullerton.
