European Social Work – A Compendium


Book Description

The publication takes account of the fundamental developments transforming social work in Europe at the beginning of the 21st century. A European standard of social work has already emerged, but models for future European social work are absent. Therefore the compendium gives an overview of the current transformation process for the first time, discusses the visible and invisible changes and maps out where social work is positioned in the emerging post-welfare states.




The Ever-Present Origin


Book Description

This English translation of Gebser’s major work, Ursprung und Gegenwart (Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlag, 1966), offers certain fundamental insights which should be beneficial to any sensitive scientist and makes it available to the English-speaking world for the recognition it deserves. “The path which led Gebser to his new and universal perception of the world is, briefly, as follows. In the wake of materialism and social change, man had been described in the early years of our century as the “dead end” of nature. Freud had redefined culture as illness—a result of drive sublimation; Klages had called the spirit (and he was surely speaking of the hypertrophied intellect) the “adversary of the soul,” propounding a return to a life like that of the Pelasgi, the aboriginal inhabitants of Greece; and Spengler had declared the “Demise of the West” during the years following World War I. The consequences of such pessimism continued to proliferate long after its foundations had been superseded. It was with these foundations—the natural sciences—that Gebser began. As early as Planck it was known that matter was not at all what materialists had believed it to be, and since 1943 Gebser has repeatedly emphasized that the so-called crisis of Western culture was in fact an essential restructuration.… Gebser has noted two results that are of particular significance: first, the abandonment of materialistic determinism, of a one-sided mechanistic-causal mode of thought; and second, a manifest “urgency of attempts to discover a universal way of observing things, and to overcome the inner division of contemporary man who, as a result of his one-sided rational orientation, thinks only in dualisms.” Against this background of recent discoveries and conclusions in the natural sciences Gebser discerned the outlines of a potential human universality. He also sensed the necessity to go beyond the confines of this first treatise so as to include the humanities (such as political economics and sociology) as well as the arts in a discussion along similar lines. This was the point of departure of The Ever-Present Origin. From In memoriam Jean Gebser by Jean Keckeis




Self-Organization and Clinical Psychology


Book Description

Self-organization and clinical psychology signals the advent of a new paradigm in psychology. Physicists, neuroscientists and individual and grouptherapists have joined forces to elucidate the new and exciting advances that are being achieved by applying the concepts of non-linear dynamics and self-organization to the human nervous system and the mind.




Thinking in Complexity


Book Description

Since the first edition sold out in less than a year, we now present the revised second edition of Mainzer's popular book. The theory of nonlinear complex systems has become a successful problem-solving approach in the natural sciences from laser physics, quantum chaos, and meteorology to computer simulations of cell growth in biology. It is now recognized that many of our social, ecological, and political problems are also of a global, complex, and nonlinear nature. And one of the most exciting contemporary topics is the idea that even the human mind is governed largely by the nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. In this wide-ranging but concise treatment, Prof. Mainzer discusses, in a nontechnical language, the common framework behind these endeavors. Emphasis is given to the evolution of new structures in natural and cultural systems and we see clearly how the new integrative approach can give insights not available from traditional reductionistic methods.




Chaos and Complexity in Psychology


Book Description

While many books have discussed methodological advances in nonlinear dynamical systems theory (NDS), this volume is unique in its focus on NDS's role in the development of psychological theory. After an introductory chapter covering the fundamentals of chaos, complexity and other nonlinear dynamics, subsequent chapters provide in-depth coverage of each of the specific topic areas in psychology. A concluding chapter takes stock of the field as a whole, evaluating important challenges for the immediate future. The chapters are written by experts in the use of NDS in each of their respective areas, including biological, cognitive, developmental, social, organizational and clinical psychology. Each chapter provides an in-depth examination of theoretical foundations and specific applications and a review of relevant methods. This edited collection represents the state of the art in NDS science across the disciplines of psychology.




Psychosocial Development in Adolescence


Book Description

Over recent years, it has become clear that group-based approaches cannot directly be used to understand individual adolescent development. For that reason, interest in dynamic systems theory, or DST, has increased rapidly. Psychosocial Development in Adolescence: Insights from the Dynamic Systems Approach covers state-of-the-art insights into adolescent development that have resulted from adopting a dynamic systems approach. The first chapter of the book provides a basic introduction into dynamic systems principles and explains their consequences for the study of psychosocial development in adolescence. Subsequently, different experts discuss why and how we should apply a dynamic systems approach to the study of the adolescent transition period and psychological interventions. Various examples of the application of a dynamic systems approach are showcased, ranging from basic to more advanced techniques, as well as the insights they have generated. These applications cover a variety of fundamental topics in adolescent development, ranging from the development of identity, morality, sexuality, and peer networks, to more applied topics such as psychological interventions, educational dropout, and talent development. This book will be invaluable to both beginner and expert-level students and researchers interested in a dynamic systems approach and in the insights that it has yielded for adolescent development.




Simultaneity


Book Description

Pt. I. Observer perspectives: epistemological background. 1. Fractal time: extended observer perspectives / S. Vrobel. 2. Mirror neurons: evidence for the great simulator and Vrobelism / O.E. Rössler. 3. The concept of now in Dogen's philosophy / M.E. Luetchford. 4. Systems and observers from a holistic viewpoint / F.-G. Winkler. 5. A systems-theoretical generalization of non-local correlations / N. von Stillfried. 6. Brain time and physical time / U. Fidelman -- pt. II. Identifying temporal observer perspectives. 7. Simultaneity in emotional moments / G.L. Clore. 8. On time experience in depression / H.M. Emrich, C. Bonnemann and D.E. Dietrich. 9. Contextualization: memory formation and retrieval in a nested environment / M. Piefke and H.J. Markowitsch. Complexity and emergent temporal structure / P.M. Allen. 11. Ordinate logics of living systems / J. LR. Chandler. 12. Skill learning, brain engagement, context and the arts / M.F. Gardiner. 13. Utilizing fractal time / T. Marks-Tarlow -- pt. III. Disentangling temporal simultaneous contrasts. 14. Relativity of scales: application to an endo-perspective of temporal structures / L. Nottale and P. Timar. 15. Unpacking simultaneity for differing observer perspectives and qualities of environment / B. Seaman. 16. Circumcising the void: (de)contextualising in complex Lacanian psychoanalysis / D. De Grave. 17. A review of Flicker-Noise spectroscopy: information in chaotic signals / S.F. Timashev and Y.S. Polyakov. 18. Hidden perspectives in emergent structures produced by neural networks / R. Pavloski. 19. Modeling common-sense decisions / M. Zak -- pt. IV. Synchronization. 20. Synchrony in Dyadic psychotherapy sessions / F. Ramseyer and W. Tschacher. 21. Temporal perspective from auditory perception / G. Baier and T. Hermann. 22. Perception of simultaneous auditive contents / C. Tschinkel. 23. Computer simulations as hidden time-ecologies / G. Koehler. 24. Anti-flaring: how to prevent the market from overheating / A.P. Schmidt and O.E. Rössler. 25. Leveraging the future - existence of a new endo-reality in economics / A.P. Schmidt and O.E. Rössler. 26. Endonomics: looking behind the economic curtain / A.P. Schmidt and O.E. Rössler. 27. Possible quantum absorber effects in cortical synchronization / U. Kämpf. 28. Time and timing in our body and life / O. van Nieuwenhuijze




The Marriage of Sense and Soul


Book Description

There is arguably no more critical and pressing topic than the relation of science and religion in the modern world. Science has given us the methods for discovering truth, while religion remains the single greatest force for generating meaning. Yet the two are seen as mutually exclusive, with wrenching consequences for humanity. In The Marriage of Sense and Soul, one of today's most important philosophers brilliantly articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation and union, on terms that will be acceptable to both camps. Ken Wilber is widely acclaimed as the foremost thinker in integrating Western psychology and the Eastern spiritual traditions. His many books have reached across disciplines and synthesized the teachings of religion, psychology, physics, mysticism, sociology, and anthropology, earning him a devoted international following. The Marriage of Sense and Soul is his most accessible work yet, aimed at guiding a general audience to the mutual accord between the spiritual, subjective world of ancient wisdom and the objective, empirical world of modern knowledge. Wilber clearly and succinctly explores the schism between science and religion, and the impact of this "philosophical Cold War" on the fate of humanity. He systematically reviews previous attempts at integration, explaining why romantic, idealistic, and postmodern theories failed. And he demonstrates how science is compatible with certain deep features common to all of the world's major religious traditions. In pointing the way to a union between truth and meaning, Ken Wilber has created an elegant and accessible book that is breathtaking in its scope.




Gestalt Therapy


Book Description

Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice is an introductory text, written by major Gestalt theorists, that will engage those new to Gestalt therapy. Editors Ansel Woldt and Sarah M. Toman introduce the historical underpinnings and fundamental concepts of Gestalt therapy and illustrate applications of those concepts to therapeutic practice. The book is unique in that it is the first Gestalt text specifically designed for the academic and training institute settings. Gestalt Therapy takes both a conceptual and a practical approach to examining classic and cutting-edge constructs.