The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing ConflictThroughout human history, the relationships of individuals and groups have been disrupted by what the authors sum up as "demonization," the attribution of basic destructive qualities to the other or to forces within the self. Demonization results in constant suspicion and blame, a systematic disregard of positive events, pressure to eradicate the putative negative persons or forces, and a growing readiness to engage in escalating conflict. Richly illustrated with 24 case stories, this book explores the psychological processes involved in demonization and their implications for the effort to effect change in relationships, psychotherapy, and beyond the office or clinic in the daily lives of families, organizations, and societies. Recent popular psychology--the authors argue--has tended to encourage demonization. An appropriate alternative to this view is known as the "tragic view": Suffering is inevitable in life; negative outcomes are a result of a confluence of factors over which one has only a very limited control; there is no possibility of reading into the hidden "demonic" layers of the other's mind; the other's actions, like our own, are multiply motivated; escalation is a tragic development rather than the result of an evil "master plan"; and finally, skills for promoting acceptance and reducing escalation are necessary for diminishing interpersonal suffering. The authors describe and illustrate a series of these skills both for psychotherapy and for personal use. Finally, they lay out an approach to consolation and acceptance, the neglect of which they attribute to the dominance of demonic views. The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing Conflict will be appreciated by all those professionally and personally concerned with the state of relationships. |
Contents
Chapter 1 The Demonic Experience | 1 |
Chapter 2 The Demonic and the Tragic Views | 13 |
Chapter 3 The Antidemonic Dialogue in Therapy | 45 |
Chapter 4 Nondemonic Fighting | 81 |
Chapter 5 The Tragic Wisdom of Consolation | 115 |
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Other editions - View all
The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing Conflict Nahi Alon,Haim Omer Limited preview - 2006 |
The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing Conflict Nahi Alon,Haim Omer No preview available - 2006 |
The Psychology of Demonization: Promoting Acceptance and Reducing Conflict Nahi Alon,Haim Omer No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
abuse acceptance acts anger antidemonic asked assumption attempts attitude become behavior believe blame Burt child client conflict consolation Danny decided demonic view depression destructive dialogue dismantling enemy enemy’s escalation evil experience family arena father fear feelings felt fight force friends George George’s goals gradually Greeboram hidden hope hypnosis illusion of control Ingram inner Joyce Leon manifest marriage mental mind Miss Havisham monic mother mother’s negative nondemonic nonviolent resistance ofthe Omer one’s outbursts pain paraglider parents perhaps person physical popular psychology positive problem professional psychodemonic psychological psychotherapy Ralph react reaction Reconciliation gestures rejection relationship resistors Richard Ofshe Rose’s Samuel satanic sessions sexuality Shelly side sit-in snowball stance suffering Sulkh suspicion talk tell thera therapeutic therapist therapy things thought tion told traditional tragic view traumatic treatment understand usually victims violence voices Who’s the boss zero-sum