| It
is not news to say that psychology has become an influential
force in our culture, or that our society is becoming more and more
filled with people who consider themselves victims of one sort or
another.
No matter where we turn, we find the effects of a psychology
industry. Its influence extends into all aspects of our lives, telling
us how to work, to live, to love and even to play. We are confronted
by psychologists expounding their theories on the endless list of
programs from Oprah and Larry King, to the news journals and tabloids,
to the 're-caps' of celebrity trials or to the discussions of post
traumatic stress disorders after disasters.
Meanwhile, people who are anxious,
a bit unhappy or just bored are turning more and more to psychology
services. Some do this through weekly appointments; some do it by
frequenting seminars and workshops; some do it by endlessly buying
books on 'abuse,' 'adult children,' 'trauma and stress,' and 'recovery;'
all in the pursuit of an elusive experience held out, like a candy
or a pot of gold, by the psychology industry.
What
is news is that psychology is manufacturing most of
these victims, that it is doing this with motives based on power
and profit, and that the industry turns these people into dependent
'users' with no escape from their problems.
The Recovered Memory/False Memory
controversy which now rages is only the tip of the ice-berg of a
far larger business in fabricated victims. While we have become
used to hearing about all sorts of victims, from those of sexual
harassment and verbal abuse, to those of 'dysfunctional families',
divorce, academic discrimination, even vacation cancellation and
home renovation, we have not yet paid attention to the psychological
techniques which are being used to create and cater to these 'victims.'
Nor have we noticed how it is the psychologists who are benefiting
in the end from this victim-making, while the industry grows in
power and affluence, as it creates a market dependent on its services.
Psychologists present themselves
as concerned and caring healers working for the good of their clients,
but the effects are damaged people, divided families, distorted
justice, destroyed companies, and a weakened nation. This book describes
the psychological industry: its sales and marketing, its public
image and private motives, its power and weakness, as it manufactures
victims.
Manufacturing Victims
is a "must read" for anyone who is a 'victim'; a friend
or relative of a 'victim'; someone blamed or accused by a 'victim';
or interested in or considering psychotherapy. Find out what the
Psychology Industry won't tell you and doesn't want you to know.
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