Why Some Therapies Don’t Work: The Dangers of Transpersonal Psychology

Albert Ellis, one of the most controversial figures in modern psychology, stands in the distinguished company of such luminaries as Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner in his uncanny knack for arousing adherents and opponents alike. Joined by his colleague, Raymond J Yeager, Ellis explains the revolutionary technique of rational-emotive therapy (RET) and contrasts it with transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy in a devastating analysis of cult therapy. Ellis developed rational-emotive therapy in response to the disillusionment that he shared with his fellow therapists when using more traditional techniques of psychoanalysis.Today, many thousands of people who are desperately seeking to understand and overcome the emotional problems they face in daily life are being threatened by the inefficient and anti-humanistic methods of popular cult therapies, many of which fall under the umbrella of transpersonal psychology. Ellis and Yeager offer compelling examples of the psychological, social, and political dangers posed by this cult phenomenon.