Yet another book on R. D. Laing may appear self-indulgent. In fact, several of the contributions to this edited collection do seem to be of this nature. However, the title registers the half-century anniversary of Laing's The Divided Self, first published in 1960, which the authors and editors ‘commemorate and celebrate in [their] various ways’ (p. vii). The book appraises ‘Laing's life, work, frailties, brilliance, and his wide and varied influences’ (back cover).
The editors are both on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psychotherapy (IJP), which published a special R. D. Laing issue in 2011. These essays and articles have been reused in this book. I found the collection something of a hotch-potch, including some transcripts of somewhat vacuous interviews that had previously, perhaps understandably, not been published, and some reprinted material from the British Journal of Psychiatry and The Guardian. Of the new material, I thought the best chapter was that by Chris Oakley, entitled ‘Where did it all go wrong?’ His simple and simplistic answer is ‘alcohol’. But the more complex version is that Laing was engulfed by his desire for adulation, becoming the tolerated and celebrated psychiatric superstar, operating on the edge of madness. To be clear, Laing was not mad but became the product of others, who twisted and obfuscated his message, for example undermining him by repeatedly calling him an ‘anti-psychiatrist’. Laing's capacity to sabotage may explain his demise but he did provide a vision of the uncertainties and enigmas of personal interaction.
The other chapter that I appreciated was by Emmy van Deurzen, who established an existential therapy school at Regent's College and set up the Society for Existential Analysis. As she says, her form of existential psychotherapy is indebted to Laing's ideas and she came to work with what she thought would be existential therapy at the Arbours and Philadelphia Associations. However much Laing may be associated with existential psychotherapy, she argues that in practice he provided no practical direction for its development, instead turning to psychoanalysis and rebirthing.
The opportunities for new inspiration about R. D. Laing may be limited but there are a few, if far between, in this book.
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