Fix me, Doc!

I think this book interests me: Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin. This review includes several quotes that mesh quite well with my beliefs. The author of the book appears to be addressing the current status of psychotherapy. The reviewer provides, I think, an honest assessment of therapist training (the review claims this is true of psychiatrists; I'd argue it is true of all well-trained psychotherapists):

At their best, psychiatrists are agnostic on the true nature and causes of mental illness. They are trained to think about their patients heuristically, along three dimensions: the biological, the psychological, and the social.

It is the book author's comments about the role of the client/patient in psychotherapy with which I most agree:

"[T]he vast majority of people don't want to participate in their own recovery. They are unwilling to try, even when they are given every advantage, every freedom, and an abundance of...compassion...because people—patients—are the way they are, often lazy, stubbornly self-indulgent, passive, and irresponsible...You want to be happy? You want to be well? Then put your boots on."

I like it. I must say I like it.