Legacy of R. D. Laing

M. Guy Thompson, PhD is a Personal and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California and Adjunct Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco. Dr. Thompson received his psychoanalytic training from R. D. Laing and associates at the Philadelphia Association and is the author of numerous books and journal articles on psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and schizophrenia. He currently lives in San Rafael, California.

• Introduction. Who Was R. D. Laing? Laing and The Myth of Mental Illness Redux. Laing’s THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE and the Emerging Science of Consciousness. On R. D. Laing’s Style, Sorcery, Alienation. Non-Modern Selves. Laing’s THE DIVIDED SELF and THE POLITICS OF EXPERIENCE: Then and Now. R. D. Laing: Pre-Mature Postmodern Psychoanalyst. Awakening to Love: R. D. Laing’s Phenomenological Therapy. R. D. Laing’s Existential-Humanistic Practice: What Was He Actually Doing? Psychotherapeutic Compassion in the Tradition of R. D. Laing. A Note on Living in One of R. D. Laing’s Post-Kingsley Hall Households: Portland Road. Human, All Too Human: The Life and Work of R. D. Laing Interview.

M. Guy Thompson has impressively compiled the most authoritative, accessible, and personally revealing book on R.D. Laing ever written, and by contributors who knew him best—his students, trainee’s, colleagues, and friends. No other book exists that covers the broad range of Laing’s legacy including his philosophy, unconventional treatment practices, politics, appeal to popular culture, and his provocative behaviour (including intimate details of his life replete with all the juicy gossip) that shine light on his enigmatic personality. A wonderful piece of scholarship! - Jon Mills, Psy.D., Ph.D., ABPP, philosopher, psychoanalyst, and psychologist; author of Underworlds: Philosophies of the Unconscious from Psychoanalysis to MetaphysicsThis is an important book! The time has come for a re-evaluation of legacy of Laing, whose work has been largely neglected by contemporary psychoanalysts and even the existential therapists who owe him so much. Edited by Laing's student and close associate, M. Guy Thompson, the book is comprised of contributors who knew Laing intimately and who provide a feel for what he was like as a person, as well as a therapist and thinker. Well-written and lively, this book is a compelling tour de force that demonstrates why Laing is so relevant for the challenges that confront us in the 21st century. – Betty Cannon, Ph.D., author of Sartre and Psychoanalysis, president of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, and founder of Applied Existential Psychotherapy (AEP) R.D. Laing in the 21st Century makes you yearn for a time when radical ideas about madness were seen as exciting possibilities to be explored. The conference proceedings also provide a foil for assessing the "brain-disease" constructs of madness that drive modern psychiatry. Today's conceptions seem particularly impoverished and lacking in all poetry. - Robert Whitaker, Author of Anatomy of an EpidemicM. Guy Thompson has impressively compiled the most authoritative, accessible, and personally revealing book on R.D. Laing ever written, and by contributors who knew him best—his students, trainee’s, colleagues, and friends. No other book exists that covers the broad range of Laing’s legacy including his philosophy, unconventional treatment practices, politics, appeal to popular culture, and his provocative behaviour (including intimate details of his life replete with all the juicy gossip) that shine light on his enigmatic personality. A wonderful piece of scholarship! - Jon Mills, Psy.D., Ph.D., ABPP, philosopher, psychoanalyst, and psychologist; author of Underworlds: Philosophies of the Unconscious from Psychoanalysis to MetaphysicsThis is an important book! The time has come for a re-evaluation of legacy of Laing, whose work has been largely neglected by contemporary psychoanalysts and even the existential therapists who owe him so much. Edited by Laing's student and close associate, M. Guy Thompson, the book is comprised of contributors who knew Laing intimately and who provide a feel for what he was like as a person, as well as a therapist and thinker. Well-written and lively, this book is a compelling tour de force that demonstrates why Laing is so relevant for the challenges that confront us in the 21st century. – Betty Cannon, Ph.D., author of Sartre and Psychoanalysis, president of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, and founder of Applied Existential Psychotherapy (AEP) R.D. Laing in the 21st Century makes you yearn for a time when radical ideas about madness were seen as exciting possibilities to be explored. The conference proceedings also provide a foil for assessing the "brain-disease" constructs of madness that drive modern psychiatry. Today's conceptions seem particularly impoverished and lacking in all poetry. - Robert Whitaker, Author of Anatomy of an EpidemicThis wonderful book, bringing together essays written mainly by people who knew Laing and his teachings personally, uniquely illuminates the life and contributions of one of the true giants of our field. - George E. Atwood. Ph.D. Since his death in 1989, R. D. Laing's trenchant contributions to the understanding of human distress have, if anything grown, in their relevance and indispensability. Laing didn't simply treat his patients, he cared for and with them in ways imbued with deep interpersonal understanding. The Legacy of R.D. Laing collects a number of pivotal essays written by authors and practitioners who knew, worked with and were inspired by Laing. For anyone who has ever been bewitched, bothered or bewildered by Laing, or who is curious to discover what all the fuss is about, this is the book to read. - Professor Ernesto Spinelli, ES Associates, London UK.