#45 Radical Therapy And Radical Life with Andrew Feldmar

MINDSETSHIFT with Mickey Feher

What is mental illness and does it really exist? What is radical psychotherapy and what is behind depression? Can (and should() we give advice about life to each other? What is evil? Where do school shootings come from and what are the psychological dynamics behind them? We tackle questions like that with Andrew Feldmar, a radical psychotherapist. Feldmár (Feldmár András; born 28 October 1940, in Budapest) is a Hungarian born psychotherapist living in Canada. He is most known as the Hungarian follower of R. D. Laing, the Scottish psychiatrist who was one of the leading figures of the counterculture of the 1960s. Laing, who later became his friend, was his teacher and therapist first. Following his mentor, Feldmár practices and popularizes a form of radical psychotherapy, where the main goal of the therapist is to engage in a real, spontaneous and honest relationship with the patient. This approach is based on the findings of research on interpersonal phenomenology, spiritual emergency, the anthropology of healing, existential psychotherapy and community therapy. Feldmár rejects the labelling of human suffering, and therefore distances himself from the mainstream forms of psychiatry and psychotherapy which are based on the concept of mental illness. He has published many books in Hungarian, he lectures, teaches, provides supervision and therapy internationally, he has worked as a psychotherapist with over 52 years of experience, having spent more than 100,000 hours in psychotherapy with clients. He has been noticeably successful treating psychotic patients. He is a well-known expert in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.