Miracles of Healing
Psychotherapy and Religion in Twentieth-Century Scotland
A rigorous historical investigation of the relationship between religion and psychotherapy in twentieth-century Scotland
- Explores the alliance between psychoanalytic psychotherapy and Scottish Christianity.
- Exposes the continuity running from Christian discourses, practices and organizations to New Age spirituality in Scotland.
- Discusses the work of figures such as radical psychiatrist R. D. Laing, pioneering psychoanalyst W. R. D. Fairbairn, psychotherapist Winifred Rushforth and organizations such as The Davidson Clinic
Show more
Acknowledgements
Introduction Chapter One: The Self In Communion Chapter Two: Interpreting God’s Psychotherapeutic Will Chapter Three: Scottish Psychotherapy In The New Age Conclusion
Archival Sources
Works Cited
Truly compelling and a valued asset to anyone involved in religiousstudies, theology, pastoral counselling or cultural anthropology.
This is a meticulously researched study of the interplay between religion and psychotherapy in Scotland from the interwar period up until the New Age. [...] The chronological and thematic structure of the book works well. History is brought to life in this text through the interweaving of small anecdotes, such as Sean Connery’s alleged experiments and Prince Charles’s interest, and fragments of source texts.
Miller provides a detailed account of a neglected aspect of the history of psychotherapy and outlines the intellectual archeology of the foundations of Scottish psychotherapy, which he traces to the late Victorian period. He argues convincingly for the importance of religion to Scottish psychotherapists, which led them, in contrast to Freud, to emphasize love and mutual cooperation, rather than conflict and individual selfinterest.
Miller’s book undoubtedly stands as a valuable contribution to local histories of psychotherapy and an example of good historical scholarship on the interface between psychology and religion.
In this meticulously researched study, Gavin Miller demonstrates the extent to which Scottish psychotherapists drew critically upon the symbols and discourses of theology to promote holistic and relational accounts of the human person. His monograph is a major contribution to our understanding of some of the most creative intellectual forces at work within twentieth-century Scotland.
