1st Edition

Clinical Chaos A Therapist's Guide To Non-Linear Dynamics And Therapeutic Change

Edited By Linda Chamberlain, Michael R. Butz Copyright 1999
    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    Psychology and the social sciences are in need of a new foundation, one that provides a better model for understanding complex behavior. Chaos theory and its newest permutation, complexity theory, offers an innovative, exciting and potentially revolutionary leap forward in the evolution of scientific thought. In Clinical Chaos, therapists and theoreticians from various areas in the social sciences will explore the relevance and implications for non-linear dynamics in observing, explaining, and understanding human behavior. At last, the scientific search can again encompass surprise, transformation, unpredictability, and pattern. This book is intended to introduce social scientists to chaos through paths that are already familiar. By linking chaos theory with existing psychological theories and established areas of clinical pursuit, Clinical Chaos emphasizes the relevance of this new science in providing a more flexible useful model for complexities of life.

    Part I. An Introduction to Chaotic Systems. An Introduction to Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics. Chaos and the Clinician. Part II. Chaos Theory and Clinical Orientations. Chaos Theory and Psychoanalysis. Chaos, Energy and Analytical Psychology. Cognitive Theory and Chaotic Processes. Systems, Theory, and Chaos Dynamics. Humanistic/Existential Perspectives and Chaos. Part III. Chaos Theory Application in Clinical Research and Practice. Dynamics of Substance Abuse: Implications of Chaos Theory for Clinical Research Implications of Chaos Theory for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. Dynamical Family Systems and Therapeutic Intervention. The Lost World of Psychopharmacology: A Return to Psychology's Jurassic Park. Creative Consciousness Process. Chaos, Complexity and Psychophysiology. Organizational Chaos. Part IV. Special Clinical Issues and Chaos Theory. Chaos and Cross-Culturalism. Non-linear Research Methodology. Chaos Theory and the Future of Psychotherapy; Conclusions and Questions. Author Index and Subject Index

    Biography

    Chamberlain, Linda; Butz, Michael R.