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A review by eososray
One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance by Christina Hoff Sommers, Sally Satel
3.0
I like the concept of this book, that we have gone too far in trying to absolve people of responsibility. But I am not sure how accurate it is, or maybe because it is very US based, maybe I am not seeing this in its natural habitat.
The school system is discussed first, mentioning that the obsession with self esteem, that everyone is a winner and eliminating any possible triggers is making a nation of children with no concept of how to survive in the real world. There was some pretty heavy 'America is Great' rhetoric in this section that made me laugh and roll my eyes all at the same time.
The catholic church is the next example, in regards to the sexual misconduct of the priests in the 20th century. The concept is that the catholic church bought in wholesale to the idea that this was a disease that could be cured instead of a crime and sent their priests to be rehabilitated. I have an issue with this idea as I think the church would have protected their own no matter what. This was not a societal failing that the church adopted in ignorance, it was a convenient way to cover up an issue. The catholic church has a long history of this, it cannot be blamed on psychology.
Up next is addiction and how we spend so much time trying to blame our upbringing, our emotions, or our brain that we have stopped taking personal responsibility for the choices we make. This one makes a lot of sense to me so far, I do think we have in general started to deflect responsibility for what we do in a lot of areas. Not my fault that you were insulted, that my marriage broke up, that I can't lose weight, that I stole, that I can't keep a job.....
There are additional discussions about cancer and the support groups that may or may not be helpful; about veterans, specifically from Vietnam and whether our view of them has been permanently tainted by assuming they were all traumatized; and about 9/11 where we assumed there would be mass trauma that required therapy.
The book speaks to how we are losing our ability to be resilient by classifying everything as trauma that requires counseling. That maybe not everyone and not every situation will be helped by this idea and we need to move toward taking responsibility for our own actions, emotions and healing. That maybe these situations are a way to grow and learn, instead of fall apart. Not in invalidate the experiences of those that do need help but also not to think that everyone must get in touch with their feelings to survive.
The school system is discussed first, mentioning that the obsession with self esteem, that everyone is a winner and eliminating any possible triggers is making a nation of children with no concept of how to survive in the real world. There was some pretty heavy 'America is Great' rhetoric in this section that made me laugh and roll my eyes all at the same time.
The catholic church is the next example, in regards to the sexual misconduct of the priests in the 20th century. The concept is that the catholic church bought in wholesale to the idea that this was a disease that could be cured instead of a crime and sent their priests to be rehabilitated. I have an issue with this idea as I think the church would have protected their own no matter what. This was not a societal failing that the church adopted in ignorance, it was a convenient way to cover up an issue. The catholic church has a long history of this, it cannot be blamed on psychology.
Up next is addiction and how we spend so much time trying to blame our upbringing, our emotions, or our brain that we have stopped taking personal responsibility for the choices we make. This one makes a lot of sense to me so far, I do think we have in general started to deflect responsibility for what we do in a lot of areas. Not my fault that you were insulted, that my marriage broke up, that I can't lose weight, that I stole, that I can't keep a job.....
There are additional discussions about cancer and the support groups that may or may not be helpful; about veterans, specifically from Vietnam and whether our view of them has been permanently tainted by assuming they were all traumatized; and about 9/11 where we assumed there would be mass trauma that required therapy.
The book speaks to how we are losing our ability to be resilient by classifying everything as trauma that requires counseling. That maybe not everyone and not every situation will be helped by this idea and we need to move toward taking responsibility for our own actions, emotions and healing. That maybe these situations are a way to grow and learn, instead of fall apart. Not in invalidate the experiences of those that do need help but also not to think that everyone must get in touch with their feelings to survive.