ABSTRACT
Hillman and Ventura have co-written a very interesting book, We've Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and Things Are Getting Worse, which complements Lasch's book, The Culture of Narcissism, well. One of their most telling points is that in focusing on 'the inner child', psychotherapy is promoting the identification of clients with a way of being which is individualistic, irresponsible, lacking commitment, or responsibility for others. There is a very large number of people about who manage to hide psychotic and close to psychotic symptoms behind a well-functioning façade. Our culture of narcissism presents us with many ways of creating this façade. Narcissistic therapists and clients will enjoy their sense of specialness to each other, but woe betide the therapist who tries to get beyond this and confront the client's manipulation. Rather, the important point is that clients learn to remake good contact with first the therapist and then the world.
