The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Saving the Modern SoulTherapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help
Abstract
The language of psychology is all-pervasive in American culture—from The Sopranos to Oprah, from the abundance of self-help books to the private consulting room, and from the support group to the magazine advice column. This book examines the profound impact of therapeutic discourse on our lives and on our contemporary notions of identity. The book plumbs today's particular cultural moment to understand how and why psychology has secured its place at the core of modern identity. It examines a wide range of sources to show how self-help culture has transformed contemporary emotional life and how therapy complicates individuals' lives even as it claims to dissect their emotional experiences and heal trauma.
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In the citing paper
“In the psychological discourse they are expressed in strict distinctions between men and women, children and adults, and again, normal and abnormal [41].”
From The person in the disabled body: a perspective on culture and personhood from the margins (2016) · cites this paper as [41]
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Items 501–529 of 529
Roquet, P. (2023) · University of Minnesota Press eBooks · doi:10.5749/9781452971124
CROSS-CULTURAL SOUL THERAPY THROUGH A SOCIOLINGUISTIC LENS
Monacelli, C. (2023) · International Journal of Language Linguistics Literature and Culture · doi:10.59009/ijlllc.2023.0031
“A key text in the field is "Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help" which suggests that modern imaginings of therapy are often formulated at sites where expert knowledge systems and media intersect (Ehrenreich, 2009).”
Connoisseurs of the Soul, Psycho Villains
Poltrum, M. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192866929.013.35
Madsen, O. J. (2023) · Nordiske Udkast · doi:10.7146/nu.v40i1.136674
Sabean, D. W. (2023) · De Gruyter eBooks · doi:10.1515/9783111014548-023
Psychology as science or psychology as religion
Madsen, O. J. (2012) · Wageningen Academic Publishers eBooks · doi:10.3920/9789086867523_007
“…critical reception 16 that followed in the footsteps of modern psychology’s unfolding in Western civilization throughout the 21 st century, at least in parts have in common the same apparent religious notion that psychology regrettably drives a wedge between man and society (Illouz 2008).”
González, M. F. (2023) · Elenkhos - Revista de la Sociedad Filosófica del Uruguay · doi:10.56657/5.1.1
Thompson, N. (2024) · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · doi:10.4337/9781035340224.00031
From Science to Parliament: How Empathy Became a Political Concept in Finland
Pettersson, M. (2024) · Redescriptions Political Thought Conceptual History and Feminist Theory · doi:10.33134/rds.428
Ambivalent Precarity among Israel's Young Generation of Filmmakers
Roichman, M. (2024) · Social Anthropology · doi:10.3167/saas.2024.320308
Hamo, M., & Kampf, Z. (2025) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197618066.003.0009
All Shades of Identity and Respect: Reclaiming the Suppressed Emotions
Sharma, A. (2025) · International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research · doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i03.46149
“Illouz (2008) characterizes this cultural transition as a "palimpsest," wh-International ere new norms are layered over existing ones, resulting in ambiguity and emotional tension.”
Een ademloos discours: therapeutische cultuur en de mogelijkheid van kritiek
Madsen, O. J. (2013) · Ethiek en Maatschappij · doi:10.21825/em.94585
Organising daily life and affective labour among YouTubers: a social media analysis
Son, A. A. (2025) · Emotions and Society · doi:10.1332/26316897y2025d000000074
Andersen, P. Ø. (2024) · Tidsskrift for Professionsstudier · doi:10.7146/tfp.v19i37.144687
NOVOS MANUAIS PARA OS MORIBUNDOS: O DISCURSO DA BOA MORTE NA CONTEMPORANEIDADE
Soneghet, L. F. (2025) · Sociologia & Antropologia · doi:10.1590/2238-38752025v1525
Writing Programs: Friedrich Kittler’s Author-Function
Fraser, J. (2025) · Sprache und Literatur · doi:10.30965/25890859-05302018
An Introduction to Ideal PsychologyPreprint
Zeng, X. (2025) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/n8bgs_v1
Guilt on the go: work-family conflict among long-distance commuter fathers
Sheffer, L. (2025) · Families Relationships and Societies · doi:10.1332/20467435y2025d000000073
平田, 知., Martos, C. M., Leurs, K., Mai, F., Hsu, Y.-H., Fang, W., & Chang, Y.-C. (2013) · Kyoto University Global COE Program for Reconstruction of the Intimate and Public Spheres in 21st Century Asia eBooks
The Faking of Charisma and Decadence: Cultural Decay Through the Ages
Braun, J. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6754-6_3
Eva Illouz: Gefühle in Zeiten des Kapitalismus
Beyer, J. (2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-531-93439-6_26
Means and Ends in Personal Relationships
Braun, J. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6754-6_12
Hjelp til (seksuell) selvhjelp – Maskuliniteter i den norske sjekkebevegelsen
Øyen, S. A., & Langeland, F. (2015) · Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning · doi:10.18261/issn1891-1781-2015-01-02
Psychology as science or psychology as religion
Madsen, O. J. (2012) · Wageningen Academic Publishers eBooks · doi:10.3920/978-90-8686-752-3_6
Stasińska, A. (2014) · Studia Socjologiczne
Metadata
- Authors
- Illouz, E.
- Corresponding author
- Illouz, Eva
- ORCID
- Illouz, Eva
- Venue
- University of California Press eBooks
- Publisher
- University of California Press
- Published
- 2008-04-03
- OpenAlex
- W578054479
- Cited by
- 534
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 51 · 2016: 57 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 83.79
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- University of California Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › History of Emotions Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Modernity and Self-Identity
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Disorders
- Keywords
- self-help culture, treatment, therapeutic discourse, emotions, identity, emotional life, trauma, American culture, mental health
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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