The McDonaldization of Psychotherapy?

Authors

  • Michael R. Montgomery Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65828/p699gp70

Keywords:

State therapy, language, McDonaldization, McRisk, Critical Psychotherapy

Abstract

Are we seeing an increasingly commodified, process-driven and risk-averse approach to psychotherapy? Starting with an operational model pioneered by the global fast-food giant that has subsequently been adopted by major public institutions and professional bodies, this paper examines the evidence for McDonaldization terms of language, personal responsibility and policy – and the implications for client care.

Full text available
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.

References

Andrews, H. (1972). Soldier – from the album Writer of Songs. London: Cube Records.

BABCP. (2015). Sub therapeutic does. BABCP Member communication, 19 October 2015

The Behavioural Insight Team. (2015). Who we are? Available online: http://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk/about-us/.

Cecil, N. (2015). Five million prescriptions for anti-depressants in London every year. The Evening Standard, 6 November 2015.

The Conservatives. (2015). The Conservative Party Manifesto 2015. London: The Conservative Party.

Cotton, T. and Loewenthal, D. (2011). Laing and the treatment of people is the way we treat people. In Loewenthal, D. (ed). Post-Existentialism and the Psychological Therapies. London: Karnac. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429478420

Dustin, D. (2007). The McDonaldization of Social Work. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315555676

The Economist. (2015). Planet of the phones. The Economist, 28 February 2015.

FDA. (2015). Digital Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Available online: http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/digitalhealth/default.htm.

Fonagy, P., Rost, F., Carlyle, J., McPherson, S., Thomas, R. (2015). Pragmatic randomized controlled trial of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression: The Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS). World Psychiatry, 14, 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20267

Friedli, L. and Stearn, R. (2015). Positive affect as coercive strategy: conditionality, activation and the role of psychology in UK government welfare programmes. Medical Humanities, 41; 40-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2014-010622

Fujiwara, D. and Dolan, P. (2014). Valuing Mental Health: how a subjective wellbeing approach can show just how much it matters. London: UKCP.

Gayle, D. (2015), Mental health workers protest at move to integrate clinic with job centre. The Guardian, 26 June 2015.

Glasser, B. and Strauss, A.L. (1967, 1999). The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. USA: The Sociology Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203793206

Glasser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: advances in the methodology of Grounded Theory. USA: The Sociology Press.

Gottlieb, L. (2012). What brand is your therapist? The New York Times Magazine, November 23.

Green, J. (2012). Days in the Life. London: Random House.

The Guardian. (2015). Guardian Letter: Austerity and a malign benefits regime are profoundly damaging mental health. The Guardian, 17 April 2015.

Halpern, D. (2015). Inside the Nudge Unit: How small changes can make a big difference. London: WH Allen.

Haslam, D. (2015). Are NICE guidelines becoming a laughing stock?, Pulse, March 2015

Heidegger, M. (1977). A Question of Technology. Trans. Lovitt William. London: Harper Perennial.

Hunter, J. (2015). Myth: If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Manage It. Available online: http://blog.deming.org/2015/08/myth-if-you-cant-measure-you-cant-manage-it/.

Huxley, A. (1932). Brave New World. London: Chatto & Windus. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472553942.ch-007

Huxley, A. (1949). 1984 vs. Brave New World. In Usher, S. (2015). More Letters of Note. Edinburgh: Canongate Unbound.

Iraq Enquiry. (2011). Oral Evidence – Tony Blair, Friday 21 January 2011, Morning Session. Available Online: http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/transcripts/oralevedence-bydate/110121.aspx.

ISRCTN. (2015). IPS Mental Health & Employment Support Evaluation, Trial 2015. Available online: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN71067067.

Johnsen, T. J., & Friborg, O. (2015). The Effects of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as an Anti-Depressive Treatment is Falling: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 41(4), 747-768. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000015

Labour Research Department. (2015). Buzz word rears its ugly head. Labour Research September 2015. London: Labour Research Department Publications.

Loewenthal, D. (2015). The Society of Critical Psychotherapy – The Action Plan. Available online: https://criticalpsychotherapy.wordpress.com/.

Longhurst, L. (2016). Transcending Trauma: Connecting to Life in the Face of Death. A Para's Tale. Available online: www.lucylonghurst.com.

Newell, R. (2015). BABCP Statement on Coercion of Benefit Claimants. Membership communication, September 30, 2015.

Obama, P. (2015) Executive Order – Using Behavioural Science Insights to Better Serve the American People, 15 September 2015, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781316493021.012

Orwell, G. (1949) [2013]. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin.

Poole, S. (2006). Unspeak. London: Little John.

Postman, N. (1985). Amusing ourselves to death. York: Methuen.

Pring, J. (2015). Protesters to march on jobcentre over mental health therapy links. Disability News Service, 19 June, Available Online: http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com.

Proteus (2015). U.S. FDA Accepts First Digital Medicine New Drug Application for Otsuka and Proteus Digital Health – Press Release 10 September 2015, Proteus Digital Health.

Rayner, M. and Vitali, D. (2015). Short-term Existential Psychotherapy in primary Care: A Quantitative Report. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. February 5, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167815569884

Ritzer, G. (1993). The McDonaldization of Society. London: Sage.

Ritzer, G. (2013). The McDonaldization of Society: 20th Anniversary Edition. London: Sage.

Rothkopf, D. (2015). How Fear Drives American Politics. Ted. Available online: www.ted.com.

Sharma, R. (2015). UKCP – Quality Control. The Psychotherapist, 59, Spring 2015, p40.

Spinelli, E. (2014). Praising Existential Therapy. The Relational World. London: Sage.

Stolorow, R. (2011). World, Affectivity, Trauma: Heidegger and Post-Cartesian Psychoanalysis. East Sussex: Routledge.

Stone, J. (2015). 'The DWP is trying to psychologically 'reprogram' the unemployed, study finds'. The Independent, Thursday 11 June 2015.

Szalavitz, M. (2012). The trouble with talk therapy. Time Magazine, 27 November 2012.

Thaler, R.H. and Sunstein, C.R. (2008). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. London: Penguin.

Thomas, D. (2014). The Dylan Thomas Omnibus. London: W&N.

von Worley, S. (2009). The contagious United States visualized by distance to the nearest McDonalds. Available online: http://www.datapointed.net/visualizations/maps/distance-to-nearest-mcdonalds/.

Weisz, J. (2015). Working collaboratively. UKCP Members Communication, 30 September 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009506953.009

Zak, P. (2015). Measurement Myopia. Available online: http://www.drudgerinstitute.com/2013/07/measurement-myopia/.

Published

2016-07-01

Cite This Article

The McDonaldization of Psychotherapy?. (2016). Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 27(2), 244-260. https://doi.org/10.65828/p699gp70
Download: RIS · BibTeX

Articles by the same author(s)

Related articles

Search for similar articles ›