ABSTRACT
This book addresses the shifting nature of the discipline of psychology through a series of “performance pieces” by and about Fred Newman, the controversial American philosopher, psychotherapist, playwright and political activist. As Kenneth Gergen comments in his eloquently phrased foreword to this volume, “Newman and his colleagues have surprised, unsettled and antagonized [and] at the same time placed into orbit…images, institutions and practices against which we can fruitfully compare our traditions…” (Gergen, this volume). It is primarily because of this that showcasing Newman’s method of developmental performance (in the practice of social therapy and developmental theatre) can shed light on the crossroads at which psychology stands.
