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Cited by 534History of Emotions ResearchModernity and Self-IdentityPsychological Treatments and Disorders

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Saving the Modern SoulTherapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help

Illouz, Eva·2008·University of California Press eBooks
DOI 10.1525/california/9780520224469.001.0001
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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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Crossref · 10.1525/california/9780520224469.001.0001

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  • The Sociology of Storytelling

    Polletta, F., Chen, P. C. B., Gardner, B. G., & Motes, A. (2011) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150106 · Cited by 718

    “Illouz (2008) and Nolan (1998, 2002) cite in this regard the rise of a therapeutic ethos, which, Nolan argues, entered state bureaucracies to fill the void of meaning left by a rationalizing state.”
    Background

  • Towards an epistemology of consumer culture theory

    Askegaard, S., & Linnet, J. T. (2011) · Marketing Theory · doi:10.1177/1470593111418796 · Cited by 696

    “…ideologies of the cold war period (Tadajewski, 2006a); humanist psychology and its influence on an American popular culture of self-actualization (Illouz, 2008); or contemporary neoliberalism (e.g. Shankar et al., 2006; Zwick et al., 2008) overshadow the notion that the human being is first and…”
    Background

  • Sharing and Web 2.0: The emergence of a keyword

    John, N. (2012) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444812450684 · Cited by 415

    “While sociologist of emotions Eva Illouz does not herself define sharing, this sense of the word is unmistakable in her definition of the therapeutic ideal as ‘the injunction to share all needs and feelings’ (Illouz, 2008: 227).”
    Background

  • Toward an Ethnography of Silence

    Kidron, C. A. (2009) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/595623 · Cited by 282

    “Although Freudian psychodynamic theories have engendered a hermeneutics of suspicion regarding all forms of repressed memories (Illouz 2008), the repression of traumatic memory and the ensuing silence have recently taken center stage (Ballinger 1998).”
    Background

  • The Social Logics of Sharing

    John, N. (2013) · The Communication Review · doi:10.1080/10714421.2013.807119 · Cited by 269

    “…principles of psychology into personal relationships, and the way we understand our selves: for example, that the structure of our personality is a function of significant events in our childhood and early family life (Illouz, 2007, see especially Chapter 1; Illouz, 2008, see especially Chapter 3).”
    BackgroundInfluential

See all 534

Related

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
DOI
10.1525/california/9780520224469.001.0001
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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