The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships

Joyce Catlett · Robert W. Firestone

May 2009 · Karnac Books

About this ebook

'Our inspiration for writing this book springs from a deep feeling for people and a grave concern that without a proper understanding of the reasons for their inhumanity in relation to one another and the development of a compassionate world view, it is likely that human beings may eventually destroy themselves and life on the planet. This work is an attempt to explain the source of destructive behaviour and how it manifests itself in personal relationships between men, women, couples, and families, and in the social arena. We present a position that offers a hope of altering the destiny of humankind's unethical behavior through better psychological understanding and education. Understanding the source of a person's aggressiveness in defending the fantasy bond and learning to cope with the voice process have strong implications for child-rearing and better mental health practices. Identifying destructive behaviours and faulty programming in family life and society, developing insight into the relationship between defences and aggressive responses, and offering a method to counteract destructive trends constitute a challenge to what many people consider to be humankinds basically unethical nature.' - From the Authors' Introduction

About the author

Joyce Catlett, MA, author and lecturer, has collaborated with Dr. Robert Firestone in writing 12 books and numerous professional articles. She began her career in psychology in 1972, working with autistic children at the Camarillo State Hospital Children's Treatment Center in Camarillo, CA. A founding member of Glendon Association, she has been a national lecturer and workshop facilitator in the areas of child abuse prevention and couple relations. With Glendon, she has co-produced 40 video documentaries on a wide range of mental health topics. Ms. Catlett was also instrumental in the development and training of instructors in the Compassionate Child Rearing Education Program and in training mental health professionals in Voice Therapy Methodology.

Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, author, and artist. Dr Firestone was in private practice of psychotherapy from 1957 to 1979. In 1979, he joined the Glendon Association as its consulting theorist. His major publications include 'The Fantasy Bond', 'Compassionate Child-Rearing', and 'Fear of Intimacy'. His studies of negative thought processes led to the development of an innovative therapeutic methodology described in 'Voice Therapy', 'Suicide and the Inner Voice', 'Combating Destructive Thought Processes', 'Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion: The Wisdom of Psychotherapy' and 'Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships'. In collaboration with his daughter, Dr Lisa Firestone, he developed three assessment instruments: The Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts [FAST], The Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent [FASI] and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts [FAVT].