`A well-researched, clearly written book... Petruska Clarkson and JenniferMackewn did a splendid job organizing the theoretical material... Their judicious use of graphics enhances their discussions... The chapter on Perls' contributions to practice is nicely peppered by samples of his actual therapy work and this is true for other chapters. This, I imagine, is how Fritz would have liked it: to let his work speak for itself... Petruska Clarkson and Jennifer Mackewn have carefully crafted and produced a powerfully informative book. Its pages are crammed with up-to-date facts and issues relating to Perls... The work is lean, not one word is wasted. Congratulations!' - British Gestalt Journal Fritz Perls was the co-founder of Gestalt Therapy, which is based on a holistic view of people and their relationship to the environment, and which remains one of the most influential approaches in counselling and psychotherapy today. This book provides a clear account of the diverse life of this popular but controversial psychotherapist and discusses his ideas simply and lucidly. The book includes examples of Perls' work, drawn from transcripts and films of his demonstration sessions. A further feature is a full acknowledgement of the criticisms and appreciations which Perls' life and work have attracted and an honest evaluation of whether and to what extent they are justified.
How do we derive concepts from stories and then use these concepts to understand people? What would have to be added to transform story material from the journalistic or literary to the academic and theoretically enriching? Addressing these and other issues such as the interface between life as lived and the social times, distinguished contributors explore this emerging new field in this unique volume. Beginning with the philosophical framework that underlies the study of narrative, the book covers such questions as: what makes people want to preserve the stories of their past? What methods can be used to deconstruct a narrative text? Can what we learn from people's narratives of their past be used to account for their current psychological functioning? What happens if people lose their ability to narrate their story? Can people's narrative accounts tell us something about identity and its development?
This book discusses the role of American police chiefs in contemporary urban settings, using institutional theory as a framework for analysis. From this perspective, the authors review long-term tendencies toward the rationalist modernization of American police agencies. Ongoing `professionalization', unionization and bureaucratization of police work are major themes in the transformations occurring in the modern role of a police chief. The internal and external conflicts and power struggles of police organization are highlighted and the authors argue that the fundamental definition of police work is the root of this conflict. It is necessary for policing paradigms to move away from rule-based, law-enforcement models towards service alternatives that emphasize the situational imperatives and discretionary essence of police work.
The findings of a large qualitative research project which studied the experiences of the chronically ill within the health care system are presented here. Thorne demonstrates the vast difference between chronic and acute illness in terms of their social and health care consequences. The book is divided into three sections: the first examines how patients handle the onset of diseases and acute episodes; the second explores the relationship with health care providers; and the final part focuses on the 'system' with its sociocultural and organizational agenda. The concluding chapter proposes future directions for health care organization, biomedical technology and social policy.
Why do we have evaluation? Is evaluation a discipline? How much impact does evaluation have on government, education or politics? Can social problems, such as poverty, be solved by the application of resources and intelligence? By exploring how evaluation has evolved as a discipline, science and profession, Ernest R House assesses the impact of evaluation on modern societies and the issues that this impact raises for evaluators. Issues addressed include: pluralism versus managerialism; quantitative versus qualitative methodologies; the purpose of education for knowledge production versus education for professions; and clientism and multicultural concerns.
Self-disclosure is a major factor in the development, maintenance and deterioration of a relationship. This volume explores how individuals negotiate with their relationship partners: what, where, when and how they communicate personal feelings and thoughts. Among the issues examined are: how close relationships and self-disclosure are mutually transformative; how subcultural differences between men and women influence self-disclosure in relationships; how the vulnerability and risk associated with disclosing personal information leads partners to be concerned about privacy regulation; and how stress-reducing disclosure, associated with the willingness to talk about stressful events, provides both a means of coping with unpleasant life events and access to social support.
This book explores a central issue in the study of close relationships: the reevaluation of traditional gender roles to take into account what is both functional and optimal for people in dual-career relationships. The author discusses how many women and men are attempting to negotiate new realities at home and work, with each other and with the larger social structure. The expectations and realities of dual-career family life are examined, benefits of increased gender equity for both same-sex and heterosexual couples explored, and continuing obstacles and sources of stress identified.
This portrait of sexuality in close relationships presents an extensive examination of current theory and research. Contributors pay particular attention to sexual attitudes, behaviour, satisfaction and coercion, and discuss sexual patterns in several types of sexual relationship: dating, cohabiting, marital and homosexual. They show how sexual aspects of these relationships are related to other characteristics such as love and communication. Drawing material from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, communication and family studies, the volume also explores sexual standards, predictors of sexual attraction, sexual scripts, the initiation of sex and negotiating safe-sex behaviours.
