{"product_id":"the-crucible-of-experience-daniel-burston-9780674002173","title":"The Crucible of Experience: R. D. Laing and the Crisis of Psychotherapy","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Crucible of Experience\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Daniel Burston\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674002172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674002173\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/19\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.86lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.58h x 6.18w x 0.76d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2000 pg. 100","brand":"Daniel Burston","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44120019403007,"sku":"9780674002173","price":74.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_13225bbf-e3f2-45bb-88b0-ebbe972eae97.jpg?v=1687412123","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-crucible-of-experience-daniel-burston-9780674002173","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}