The Sidewalk Psychotherapist: Caring and Compassion in a Chemical Age

What actually helps people suffering from emotional, mental, and physical suffering and pain to recover? Are we really victims of alleged chemical imbalances in the brain? Do we suffer from maladaptive thoughts or behaviors? Are medications and psychological techniques the most helpful thing that clinicians can offer? Dr. David B. Schwartz questions such modern technological solutions. Inspired by the radical psychiatrist R.D. Laing and others, he brings neglected attention to the most powerful therapeutic force of all: curative relationships. He proposes that psychotherapy is but one form of the ways that human beings have cared for each other throughout history. This universal curative force can be brought to a laser-like focus in psychotherapy, but is equally available at a sidewalk café table. Engaging clinical storyteller Dr. Schwartz illustrates his claims in compelling and universal ways that remind us of the essential humanity of human beings and their experiences, in which true recovery can be achieved.