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The Vital Balance: The Life Process in Mental Health and Illness
by MENNINGER, Karl
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Galena, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: The Viking Press, 1963. Hardcover. Small 4to. Blue and tan cloth with blue lettering, dust jacket. 531pp. Near fine/very good. Faint jacket edgewear only. Superbly tight and attractive first edition of the renowned psychiatrist's thesis that psychiatry "is now the source of hope for all who are emotionally disturbed or mentally ill... as well as a guide and support to business, the professions, and society at large." Fine and bold presentation inscription and signature in blue ballpoint on front flyleaf to a nephew: "A Merry Christmas / to Phil & Georgia / from 'Uncle Karl' and / family. / 1963 / Karl Menninger." Karl (1893-1990) co-founded the famed Menninger Clinic with younger brother William (1899-1966). Philip B. (1928-2016) was one of William's three children and a long-time Menninger Clinic staffer.
Reviews
On Jun 4 2007, Learningaramaic said:
This wise book-- by one of the greatest psychodynamicly-oriented psychiatrists of the 20th century-- explores human psychosocial function as a "total system" years before Bertalanffy and the General Systems people made its approach into a rigorous discipline in mental health.
Simply put, what Dr. Menninger calls the "vital balance" is equivalent to the human potential for homeostasis in the psychic and social areas. There is nothing mystical or superstitious about this notion, albeit is is holistic and not reductionist.
What is not well-appreciated is that-- given enough inputs/outputs-- the "steady state" of the vital balance Menninger discusses can be described mathematically. BUT FEAR NOT ON THIS NOTICE! NOT A SINGLE MATH FORMULA APPEARS IN MENNINGER'S BOOK HERE, DESPITE THIS COMPLETE COMPLEMENTARITY IN HARD-SYSTEMS TERMINOLOGY.
THE VITAL BALANCE was pressed in 1963; while it was reprinted several times, I understand it can be obtained only in used-bookstores. Pity! This work was well-ahead-of-its-time upon pressing, and I consider it to be CUTTING-EDGE PSYCHIATRY unto this day. This work was the most-consistent and most-rigorous contribution by "Dr. Karl," as he is known at the Menninger Clinic-- is well-crafted theory fit for the family-systems practitioners, the quantifiers, and all in mental health who seek a comprehensive framework within which one can cast the PROCESS OF GETTING WELL PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
--Vernon Lynn Stephens, M.S.S.W.
D.S.M. IV # 350
F31.2
10:49 p.m. -- Monday, June 4, 2007
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Details
- Bookseller
- Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 44592
- Title
- The Vital Balance: The Life Process in Mental Health and Illness
- Author
- MENNINGER, Karl
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- The Viking Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1963
- Bookseller catalogs
- Books; Medical;
Terms of Sale
Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA
Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts accepts most major credit cards and PayPal. Checks are welcome. Institutions will be accommodated as their procedures require. Every effort has been made to describe each book and any defects accurately. If an item proves unsatisfactory for any reason, it may be returned within seven days. We would appreciate a courtesy call if an item is being returned. Member ABAA, ILAB, MWABA, The Manuscript Society.
About the Seller
Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA
Biblio member since 2005
Galena, Illinois
About Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA
Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts has been serving book lovers, collectors and institutions since 1991. Our inventory of quality out-of-print books spans 50 subjects, while the extensive autograph holdings have a decidedly historical bent, reflecting personages from every field of human endeavor.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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