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Throughout human history, the relationships of individuals and
groups have been disrupted by what the authors sum up as
"demonization," the attribution of basic destructive qualities to
the other or to forces within the self. Demonization results in
constant suspicion and blame, a systematic disregard of positive
events, pressure to eradicate the putative negative persons or
forces, and a growing readiness to engage in escalating conflict.
Richly illustrated with 24 case stories, this book explores the
psychological processes involved in demonization and their
implications for the effort to effect change in relationships,
psychotherapy, and beyond the office or clinic in the daily lives
of families, organizations, and societies.
Recent popular psychology--the authors argue--has tended to
encourage demonization. An appropriate alternative to this view is
known as the "tragic view" Suffering is inevitable in life;
negative outcomes are a result of a confluence of factors over
which one has only a very limited control; there is no possibility
of reading into the hidden "demonic" layers of the other's mind;
the other's actions, like our own, are multiply motivated;
escalation is a tragic development rather than the result of an
evil "master plan"; and finally, skills for promoting acceptance
and reducing escalation are necessary for diminishing interpersonal
suffering. The authors describe and illustrate a series of these
skills both for psychotherapy and for personal use. Finally, they
lay out an approach to consolation and acceptance, the neglect of
which they attribute to the dominance of demonic views.
"The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing
Conflict" will be appreciated by all those professionally and
personally concerned with the state of relationships.
Patients of psychotherapy often have pre-developed, powerful
stories about themselves when they come for treatment, and these
are usually characterized by bleak self-portrayals, inexorable
plots, narrow themes, and demoralizing meanings. This book aims to
help the psychotherapist in creating a new story for the client
that is so close to their own experience that they may view it as
their own story. However this story must be different enough from
the previous one so as to allow for new meanings and options to be
perceived. The aim is that once the client is freed from his
original story he can begin to be freed from his problem
altogether. Teaching the therapeutic principles of narrative
reconstruction, this book shows how to improve in the following:
characterizing, constructing plot, outlining and developing themes,
and conveying meanings.
The Dalai Lama writes in the foreword to this book that every human
being desires and has a right to happiness. But disharmony, strife
and violence always bring suffering to people. Suddenly we get
caught up in processes of demonizing the other, the other group,
the other people. We only perceive the counterpart in a negative
light, we turn it into a monster that we have to fight with all our
might. The psychotherapeutic authors explain how this happens and
show - also using convincing case studies - ways of de-escalation
and demonization.
Throughout human history, the relationships of individuals and
groups have been disrupted by what the authors sum up as
"demonization," the attribution of basic destructive qualities to
the other or to forces within the self. Demonization results in
constant suspicion and blame, a systematic disregard of positive
events, pressure to eradicate the putative negative persons or
forces, and a growing readiness to engage in escalating conflict.
Richly illustrated with 24 case stories, this book explores the
psychological processes involved in demonization and their
implications for the effort to effect change in relationships,
psychotherapy, and beyond the office or clinic in the daily lives
of families, organizations, and societies. Recent popular
psychology--the authors argue--has tended to encourage
demonization. An appropriate alternative to this view is known as
the "tragic view": Suffering is inevitable in life; negative
outcomes are a result of a confluence of factors over which one has
only a very limited control; there is no possibility of reading
into the hidden "demonic" layers of the other's mind; the other's
actions, like our own, are multiply motivated; escalation is a
tragic development rather than the result of an evil "master plan";
and finally, skills for promoting acceptance and reducing
escalation are necessary for diminishing interpersonal suffering.
The authors describe and illustrate a series of these skills both
for psychotherapy and for personal use. Finally, they lay out an
approach to consolation and acceptance, the neglect of which they
attribute to the dominance of demonic views. The Psychology of
Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing Conflict will be
appreciated by all those professionally and personally concerned
with the state of relationships.
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