Critical Psychology: Angles, Arguments, Activism

What is critical psychology? How does it operate in relation to the theory and practice of the psy complex? Why is Marxism a valuable resource to conceptualise and challenge psychology?Detailed analysis of the ‘psy complex’ enables us to conceptualise the way academic and professional practice operates, and this is accompanied by situating the way psychology operates in contemporary culture, exploring the role of ‘psychologisation’. Psychologisation takes place in a number of ways that are problematic for those of us who aim to change the world and, crucially, know that another world is only possible if people are actively engaged in changing social conditions themselves.This introduction to critical psychology is written from many intersecting standpoints and provides arguments for different kinds of audiences inside and outside the discipline. It connects with practice, with interventions in tune with a sceptical, anti-psychological, politically charged understanding of what we need to change if we are to change ourselves.

About the Author

Ian Parker is co-founder of the Discourse Unit, the managing editor of Annual Review of Critical Psychology , author and editor of numerous books and articles on critical psychology, an anti-psychologist and a revolutionary Marxist.