Jefferson M. Fish

To examine the problem and propose solutions, Jefferson Fish has marshaled contributions from some two dozen creative thinkers representing the disciplines of anthropology, economics, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.

How to Legalize Drugs

Placebo Therapy

Is our society color-blind? Trans-racial? Post-racial? And what—if anything—should this mean to professionals in clinical practice with diverse clients? The ambitious volume The Concept of Race and Psychotherapy probes these questions, compelling readers to look differently at their clients (and themselves), and offering a practical framework for more effective therapy. By tracing the racial “folk taxonomies” of eight cultures in the Americas and the Caribbean, the author elegantly defines race as a fluid construct, dependent on local social, political, and historical context for meaning but meaningless in the face of science. This innovative perspective informs the rest of the book, which addresses commonly held assumptions about problem behavior and the desire to change, and presents a social-science-based therapy model, applicable to a wide range of current approaches, that emphasizes both cultural patterns and client uniqueness. Among the highlights of the coverage: Common elements in therapy and healing across cultures. The psychological appeal of racial concepts despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Lessons psychology can learn from anthropology. Three types of therapeutic relationships, with strategies for working effectively in each. The phenomenon of discontinuous change in brief therapy. Solution-focused therapy from a cross-cultural perspective. Thought-provoking reading for psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and other mental health professionals as well as graduate students in these fields, The Concept of Race and Psychotherapy affirms the individuality—and the interconnectedness—of every client.

The Concept of Race and Psychotherapy

In recent years, reported racial disparities in IQ scores have been the subject of raging debates in the behavioral and social sciences and education. What can be made of these test results in the context of current scientific knowledge about human evolution and cognition? Unfortunately, discussion of these issues has tended to generate more heat than light. Now, the distinguished authors of this book offer powerful new illumination. Representing a range of disciplines--psychology, anthropology, biology, economics, history, philosophy, sociology, and statistics--the authors review the concept of race and then the concept of intelligence. Presenting a wide range of findings, they put the experience of the United States--so frequently the only focus of attention--in global perspective. They also show that the human species has no "races" in the biological sense (though cultures have a variety of folk concepts of "race"), that there is no single form of intelligence, and that formal education helps individuals to develop a variety of cognitive abilities. Race and Intelligence offers the most comprehensive and definitive response thus far to claims of innate differences in intelligence among races.

Separating Science From Myth

Race and Intelligence

The focus of this edited collection is a thoughtful multidisciplinary presentation of past and present U.S. drug policies and whether they are winning the so-called war on drugs (they aren't!). For the great majority of ills ascribed to "drugs" are actually caused by the black market created by drug prohibition; the more successful the war on drugs is in making the drug trade a dangerous business, the greater are the profits from increased prices, and hence the greater the incidence of disease, corruption, social disorder, and death. Drugs and Society provides individuals with the information they need to construct an alternative policy.

U.S. Public Policy

Drugs and Society

Uwe P. Gielen

Juris G. Draguns

Emotional, as well as physical distress, is a heritage from our hominid ancestors; it has been experienced by every group of human beings since our emergence as a species. And every known culture has developed systems of conceptualization and intervention for addressing it. The editors have brought together leading psychologists, psychiatrists, anthropologists, and others to consider the interaction of psychosocial, biological, and cultural variables as they influence the assessment of health and illness and the course of therapy. The volume includes broadly conceived theoretical and survey chapters; detailed descriptions of specific healing traditions in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Arab world. The Handbook of Culture, Therapy, and Healing is a unique resource, containing information about Western therapies practiced in non-Western cultures, non-Western therapies practiced both in their own context and in the West.

Jefferson M. Fish

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