This Web Site: This site serves many purposes, but it is mainly committed to social research and social campaigning. Its main purpose is to advance understanding into the social causes and consequences of physical, psychological, emotional and institutional neglect, prejudice and abuse. It seeks to demonstrate how these social experiences lead to the wide range of Mental Health problems we see in our society, including drug & alcohol abuse, psychosis and so called 'personality disorders'. I will show, by extensive operational research, reference to other social and psychological research, anecdote, casework examples and rigorous theory and psycho-social analysis, that our society and institutions have become highly prejudiced and disabling to large groups of people, to the individual's and the communities disadvantage. These people are targets for bullying and abuse because they are 'different'. This can be due to colour, race, culture, vocabulary, ways of perceiving & understanding, expressing themselves and resistance to towing the 'institutional' line. I started this psycho-social (Social Analytic) study of cultures and institutions because of my own (and my family & friends) incredible parental and institutional anuses as a child. Effects of abuse which have continued into my adult life and have substantial left me open to continued abuse, because of my refusal to ignore the injustices that I see perpetuated in our institutions, cultures and society. I have reached the end of being able observe and do my little bit to help. The problems have not gone away, they are as stark as they ever were, just different groups affected. Some of the statements and accounts of experience sometimes sound incredible and many will dismiss as 'weaknesses' in the individuals concerned. This is often the traditional 'professional' and 'therapeutic' perspective. These attitudes could not be more wrong. They are often 'rationalisations' for not knowing how to recognise and deal with the underlying problems. I never make a statement that I can not effectively demonstrate by repeated examples, actual practice and logic. Sadly, the only way of convincing most professionals (those capable of more sophisticated thinking, &/or of gaining psychological and emotional insight), is by 'intellectually' challenging the existing misinformed and prejudicial insights. The reason for this is simple. Those most able to advance social and community care have a profound understanding of cause and effect, either by virtue of their own experience, or their resilience to being blinded by institutional doublespeak. Please read on if you dare, or if you can be bothered. I am now ready to make these issues very public, for the sake of those who still suffer the incompetence of the institutions financed and instituted to protect them. | NOTE: This Document is still at some stage of development. You are invited to respond and comment on its content and its logic. If you return to the document at a future date, you will be able to see its continued development, hopefully reflecting your own and others commentary. I thank you, in advance, for any contribution that you make. Please also feel free to visit and contribute, in any valid way, to these and other social issues, through our Forums. There is also a Chat Room and protected Chat Space for more serious group discussions and individual counselling. Please feel free o use this space for your legitimate activities. Copyright: Although you will see very few reference to other formal writings in this document, I acknowledge general recognition to the discussions and debates that I have had with students, practitioners and clients over the years. Most of the ideas and theory has evolved through this rather pragmatic process (operational research), rather than any formal reading. If any content of this document describes concepts, theory, or ideas that have been established else where, (prior to my writing, either here or else where - in part or in full), I acknowledge their entitlement to claim them as their intellectual property for financial purposes, if they can evidence this. I also reserve the right to retain them as my intellectual property, with due recognition to those who have made direct contributions, including other writers, should I identify such a past influences. Other than this, I invite you to share and copy any content, to the benefit of intellectual debate and the benefit of individuals and groups, without restriction, other than it be used for constructive purpose, in the wider context of my writing. Should you wish to use any material presented here 'as is', I ask that you then make reference to myself and the web site. The 'Reading Date' would be a useful 'publishing date' for the Current Edition. 1980 is the core publishing date for most of the basic ideas and theory (unless stated otherwise). This 'Reading Date' may be an important part of this 'reference', as the document (by its 'internet fluid' nature) will be constantly changing and this may affect meaning and interpretation, for those following up on such a reference at a later date. Thank you for your cooperation. TRC. eMail: terry.couchman@visitweb.org |
