The Way We Are: How States of Mind Influence Our Identities, Personality and Potential for Change

Putnam does it again. The way we are opens our minds, explores the boundaries of what we know, and builds a systematic structure based off of known models. His knowledge on emotional states of consciousness.... is, in my opinion, unsurpassed.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if reading a professional book about a new framework for understanding human consciousness and behavior made you feel as if you were having a conversation with the brilliant person who developed the concept? Reading Dr. Frank Putnam’s The Way We Are felt that way to me. A renowned expert on dissociation, Dr. Putnam combines his careful scientific approach with informal language and a conversational style that makes his innovative “state-spaces” concept accessible to an intelligent public as well as graduate students, clinicians, and researchers. Drawing upon psychological, physiological, and metaphysical research related to human development, his framework encompasses cognition, emotion, and the physiological, aiming to amplify existing theories of human behavior rather than displace them.In addition to the book’s style, another user-friendly feature —and effective pedagogical technique — is the synthesis that concludes each chapter, summarizing and highlighting key points. As a consulting clinical psychologist, I found The Way We Are to be of such practical value that I began rereading it immediately upon finishing it the first time. I have since recommended it to colleagues who are eager to deepen their own understanding of human consciousness and behavior, and am confident that all of us will continue to treasure it as a valuable resource.

An outstanding achievement and contribution. Dr. Putnam crosses disciplines and integrates diverse theories to present a compelling perspective on consciousness. As he notes, it was William James, the father of American psychology, who first tackled these issues, facing the conceptual and theoretical challenges that we still contend with. But James lived at a time when research was scarce, and Dr. Putnam mines the rich body of observation and experimentation that has accumulated since to offer an integrated interpretation of what we know now. This is a very scholarly but highly readable book. Succinctly written and carefully constructed, The Way We are should appeal to professionals and other intellectually curious readers alike. It is particularly sharp when discussing child maltreatment and its impacts on the brain, behavior, and thinking. Although just one part of the overall focus of the book, it pulls together a complex and emerging science and sheds light on how these experiences have such a profound impact on people. I highly recommend it.

As a therapist, and as a human being in search of the transcendent, this is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read...and I’ve read quite a bit of both the psychology and spiritual realms. The way Dr. Putnam characterizes “The Way We Are” is truly the way we are - numerous selves that integrate with varying degrees of success. That we can overcome inner turmoil with an eye on what is greater than ourselves I believe to be the “therapy” of the ages. Dr. Putnam’s use of early states documented on a neurobiological level to inform how our personality is constructed is brilliant beyond belief. I am so fortunate to have seen a lecture by this great man.

So reading all the reviews that have already been made....they are soooo true!!!! This book is written for the plain, ordinary person...with all of his knowledge, education and lives experiences...and reseach he as been involved in .....while reading this book, you feel lilke he is talking to you only...Dr. Putnam is a gift to this world. 'Im sure he has made a difference in a lot of lives of people that he is writing about, because he is a true, compassion jewel , down to earth and great person...Please read this book as it applies to everyone.

I'm delighted that Dr Putnam has once again contributed a masterful book that is well written and full of helpful insights from his decades of scholarly work. No one has influenced my understanding of states and dissociative self systems more than Dr. Putnam, whose early book on multiple personality was the first I'd read. This one, so much later in his career, helps us understand the human experience in terms of states and state switches, as it relates to trauma and to human experience over all. I'm most grateful for this book and his many contributions over his lifetime.

Dr. Putnam is not only a pioneer in the field of Dissociative treatment, but a divine and compassionate human being. His Epilogue is a testament of how much work and life he puts into all he touches. Lucky us his latest work has eleven chapters that attest to this!Thanks Dr. Putnam.A grateful reader, Rosita Cortizo, Psy.D, LMFT, MA

Great read

The book embraces the wisdom and the compassion of a lifetime dedicated to the healing of most vulnerable human beings as well as a mulidisciplinary approach on states of mind and the recognition that we all have parts in the end. this will change your view on the human mind forever in a progressive and productive way.

Hard read but well worth it