Search for Your Self

A book about pathways to personal growth by an anthroposophical counsellor and psychotherapist. This immediately gives it an interesting angle, informed as it is by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. There are useful definitions and characterisations of healthy and unhealthy psychological growth in terms of positive self regard and relations with others, autonomy, resilience, a sense of purpose and control over one's environment. The book is structured around eight pathways: the body, counselling, guru, psychics, guides, neo-shamanism, drugs and meditation. While this is an interesting framework that enables the author to compare these various paths, illustrating them with case histories, I suspect that most people would find themselves on a number of different paths. And the language of psychotherapy tends to predominate, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but influences that perspective.