Dr. Seth Farber is a revolutionary psychologist who has appeared on Oprah, Geraldo, Coast to Coast, and Alex Jones. In the spirit of Anton Boisen (the founder of pastoral psychology) and RD Laing (the pioneering psychiatrist), Farber's book, The Gift of Spiritual Madness maintains, as Joseph Campbell did, that mystics and schizophrenics swim in the same area of consciousness. The difference is that the mystic is swimming and the schizophrenic is drowning. A friend and colleague of many 60s hippie-era icons, our conversation moves accordingly, jumping and tossing allusions and laughter. If you lose the threads, worry not, notes and links and quotes are included on our website www.contemplativelight.com/podcastSome of the topics we cover:-the mad pride movement-Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" as a battle-cry for mad pride-the mental patient's liberation movement-when did psychology and psychiatry become too medicalized and why-Does the APA have special interests-Mysticism, madness, and the problems with our culture-a personal anecdote about Thomas Sasz (author of The Myth Of Mental Illness) and RD LaingThe Schizophrenic and Mystic are swimming in the same deep sea of consciousness. The difference is that the Mystic is swimming and the schizophrenic is drowning. This phrase serves as the general theme of the mad pride movement and the thesis of this episode. RD Laing, MD: A pioneering and controversial psychiatrist whose book, The Politics of Experience, broke new ground, honoring the spiritual component of what mainstream psychiatry labeled mental illness. A liberal hippie, Laing has not been incorporated into mainstream psychology like his colleague and rival Thomas. Szasz Thomas Szasz: author of The Myth of Mental Illness, a book that maintains the label of mentally ill is a form of social control. While both Tom and RD believed in that defining mental health in terms of adaptation to a unhealthy culture was inaccurate, Tom did not have the spiritual component that Laing did, and his inclusion in the psychological canon is perhaps due to the secular nature of the industry. Peter Breggin, MD. Author of Toxic Psychiatry, a book that exposed the financial motives of drug companies giving money to the APA and the corruption that drove the medicalization of the psychology field. APA: The American Psychological Association. Often just the gatekeepers of the APA format dreaded by grad students, there is more to the story of their influence than meets the eye.
Clint Sabom is the Creative Director of Contemplative Light and the podcast host. He now offers Executive Coaching For Overall Self-Improvement. If this is something that interests you, email him at connect@contemplativelight.org. Put in the subject line Coaching, and we can set up a free explorative call.
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