Healing Fiction Paperback – May 15, 1998

This is classic Hillman, I love it. Rereading it recently I realise how much the Kindle edition is marred by OCR typos. Can the publisher fix these?Loc 2096 "...the petite tache humide on the Jung of Hans Castorp..." Should be lung not Jung! (referring to the character in "The Magic Mountain")Loc 2171 "Is this not fiction per set Is that why psychotherapy..." Whaa?There are others. Please fix!

For those who thought Freud was a scientist, this book may change your mind. Also, for those who question the legitimacy of psychiatry, you may find comfort here. Hillman is a psychologist from somewhat of a unique perspective. He provides great balance to the pomposity that often colors words about the human mind.

I love the way this man thinks. He is very much like Irvin Yalom. Very outside-the-box thinker in the field of psychiatry. I highly recommend reading them both. They write so anyone can follow their thinking and their thoughts open doors for the reader to gain new perspectives on self and life.

Freud's writing as literature and the subjective fictions practitioners write in patient's charts. Very interesting and recommended for anyone who takes patient/client notes.

Excellent.

This is the first work by Hillman I read, and that was for a course at the New School for Social Research. Although I have a masters degree in psychology, my background was in cognitive and social psychology. This was part of my introduction into psychopathology and Jungian psychology. I liked it so much that I have read it about 25 times. In reading this book, it is probably good to begin with the third chapter (What Does the Soul Want?), then read chapters one and two. You will find that order of reading the book helps. The emphasis is on the soul (not in a religious sense, but the soul as "psyche") and the needs of the "inner voice." From that point, the use of the case study is developed as a "healing fiction." In the development of that healing fiction, certain symbols, images, and signs are used. Each person, or soul, develops his or her own healing fiction as it strives to reach a balance.In addition to being a premier Jungian psychologist, James Hillman is a neo-Platonist philosopher. The symbolic influence of ancient gods and goddesses, as well as the demands of the "daimon" on a person are introduced. You may notice that this fits well with some of the writings of Joseph Campbell, who was also strongly influenced by Jung. Hillman demonstrates a wide background in the classics, literature, and philosophy. This is a thinking person's book, especially recommended to students of psychology and to mental health professionals.

I highly recommend it. But difficult, like all James Hillman's books. His viewpoint is like no one else's. Informed by Jung, but not subservient to him.

It's a 3 star only because I can't understand it which is no fault of the book. But be warned -- you'll a dictionary and a tutor because even a definition of the words used does not help in this context.The instructional style goes along duh-dah, duh-dump, CLUNK. The CLUNK being a word you hardly ever see and sure in heck don't understand in this sentence. There's a rhythm to the sentence structure that leads to a conclusion but the word used at the end? CLUNK.

The read is somehow cumbersome also maybe impacted by the fact that I'd expected something less abstract and more counselling orientated given.

Lo sto leggendo e mi sembra interessante anche se avrei voluto un libro più pratico, ma questo dipende dalla mia scarsa conoscenza dell'0argomento.

A great book by one of the geniuses of depth psychology. Always gets you thinking outside the box. Insightful.