DNF: Psychotherapy of Character: The Play of Consciousness in the Theater of the Brain by Robert A. Berezin, M.D.

Psychotherapy of Character: The Play of Consciousness in the Theater of the Brain
written by Robert A. Berezin. M.D.
published by Wheatmark

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I was asked by the publicist to review this book. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Where I stopped reading: Page 68.

Why I stopped reading: I’m not Harvard material.

But seriously.  I dragged myself through Part One (Consciousness) thinking I needed to endure its textbookishness to glean the required knowledge I’d need for Part Two.  I hoped Dr. Berezin would ease up on the weighty language so lay readers could (at least partially) understand his message.  When I realized, just a few pages into Chapter 5, that not only was the language getting MORE tedious, but that Dr. Berezin was going to lead me through each and every moment of his subject’s existence (up to and including conception, gestation, and expulsion from what was apparently a hellacious womb), I gave up.

I’m disappointed I couldn’t get through this book; I asked to review it because I’m genuinely interested in the subject matter.  The book would make a great textbook, but if you’re looking for an educated opinion about the state of psychiatry that’s even moderately accessible to non-professionals, this isn’t it.

I should have stopped reading at “the characterological drama in the waking trance.”

What others have rated this book: According to Goodreads, the average rating for Psychotherapy of Character is 5 stars. There is also a 5-star review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Just because I didn’t finish this book doesn’t mean you won’t.

About the book – from Goodreads: Contemporary psychiatry has fallen under the sway of biological reductionism, where our patients do not receive proper care. They are treated primarily or exclusively with psychoactive drugs. The result has been a pharmaceutical epidemic, with psychiatric drug sales topping $70 billion a year. Pharmaceutical psychiatry ignores the complexities of the human condition as if the agency of human suffering can be cured by a pill. In Psychotherapy of Character, Dr. Berezin presents a much-needed alternative to the prevailing doctrine, one that is grounded in an understanding of human nature. Suffering is not a brain problem, it is a human problem. He illuminates the practice and effectiveness of psychotherapy through the story of his patient, Eddie. Eddie’s complicated inner life, varied experiences, and ultimate breakthrough, stand in contrast to the destructive and false promises of a magical cure. He introduces a new and inclusive paradigm of consciousness for the twenty-first century.