Are you open-minded? If so, this book will captivate, fascinate, and disturb you. If you are unquestioningly married to politically correct ideology, you will brand the book conservative dogma and look for reasons to discredit the authors. Ironically, the editors/principal authors are life-long liberal activists. They are activists who continually examine psychology's assumptions and political processes.

Several contributors discuss the consequences of how APA conducts political activism. The thesis: Psychology aspires to appreciate the complexity of issues and base conclusions on quality data. APA ballot issues that present Pro and Con statements nicely complement these values. In Council resolutions, court testimonies, press releases, and reports, however, APA typically takes a one-sided stand. This can result in APA being perceived as partisan, writing off half of the political spectrum and politicians, and leaving members who disagree with the position feeling disenfranchised. Worst of all, instead of educating the public on how psychology values and uses the scientific process, one-sided positions portray psychology as just another vested interest.

The book leaves few sacred cows un-gored. Contributors take on rebirthing, EMDR, Arthur Jensen, affirmative action, recovered memories, community psychology, dual relationships, ADHD, Dissociative Identity Disorders, treating homosexuality, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, "postmodern psychological parenting," and more. Everyone should find at least one (and likely more) of these chapters will change their fundamental conceptualizations of the politics and practice of psychology.

Psychiatrist William Glasser makes a case for why only a handful of diagnoses are diseases that require medications. More useful, he posits, is that just as there is a continuum from physically ill to out of shape to physically healthy, there is a continuum from mentally ill to unhappy, to mentally healthy. Rather than tell unhappy clients they are sick, have brain damage, or chemical imbalances, we should be teaching them skills to be happier.

If you want to know what is happening, follow the money. It's easy to see how the pharmaceutical companies benefit from medicalizing mental health. Ofer Zur examines how victimhood and rights industries need people to be victims and see themselves as helpless and oppressed. Nick Cummings wryly gives a step by step process for fabricating a new syndrome that would be widely accepted. On a hopeful note, Cummings posits that by truly integrating psychology with healthcare and casting psychologists as behavioral primary care providers, the number of psychology patients could increase 900%.

Have you ever been perturbed at those Continuing Education requirements? Rogers Wright points out how there is little empirical validation for these requirements and little attention to the quality of the presentations. He gives examples of courses on obscure topics that have little to do with psychology, fad therapies, and inappropriate content. Then there are the special interest groups lobbying to get their niche to be a CE requirement. What's more, psychologists writing the rules often earn considerable income consulting and testifying on these issues - a conflict of interest by the ethicists?

Most of the contributors' points are well supported with examples and data. They are a call to reexamine processes and practices we seldom pause to consider. Such reexamination has the potential to revitalize psychology. I found the book exciting, profound, and the most thought provoking book I have read in at least a decade.

Michael Brickey, Ph.D., ABPP is a Past IP Editor and author of Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young. His website is www.DrBrickey.com

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