V. Edwin Bixenstine, 88, Publishes Psychotherapy Book

KENT, Ohio, Aug. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Culminating a 60-year career spanning clinical practice, academia and authorship, retired psychologist V. Edwin Bixenstine, 88, recently announced the release of his psychotherapy academic book intended to serve as a central guiding light for the fragmented field of psychology.

Published by Routledge, "O. H. Mowrer's Theory of Integrity Therapy Revisited" (ISBN-10: 0415721555, ISBN-13: 978-0415721554) is now available on Amazon via hardcover and Kindle formats.

Having obtained his doctorate under the mentoring of renowned psychologist Dr. O. Hobart Mowrer at the University of Illinois in 1953, Bixenstine seeks to reintroduce modern psychologists to the Mowrerian concept of Integrity Therapy – based on the idea that persisting painful emotions arise not from long-past traumas, but from ongoing choices and habits which serve immediate relief or comfort but which are contrary to the sufferer's basic values and goals.  These habits are protected by various strategies of denial which are self-deceptive as well as deceptive of intimate others, but only compound the quandaries facing the sufferers.  Integrity therapy seeks to help individuals confront their actions, their departures from basic values, and thereby regain their personal integrity.

The book explores the conceptual underpinnings of Integrity Therapy and Mowrer's unique treatment approach, detailing his methods for setting conditions for therapy, assessing clinical data, rules of engagement for transference and countertransference, and handling client resistance.  Case examples and transcripts are included to demonstrate key points of this technique.  Mental health professionals interested in Mowrer's ideas or the history of psychotherapy will find this book to be a valuable and interesting resource.

"The manuscript for 'Integrity Therapy Revisited' is several decades in the making, and it's extremely gratifying to unveil the finished product," said Bixenstine, who is celebrating his 88th birthday today.  "My hope is this book will be read by psychologists and students and will challenge them to question implicit assumptions that have dominated our views and practices.  Mowrer's insights were iconoclastic and truly deserve to be reexamined, tried, and tested in a time when our discipline openly struggles to find a new paradigm able to enhance understanding of and service to people in emotional quandaries."

Bixenstine will be in attendance at the 122nd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) from August 7-10, 2014, in Washington, D.C. to promote his book.

About The Author
V. Edwin Bixenstine, Ph.D., ABEPP, is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Kent State University, Ohio.  He obtained his doctorate under the mentoring of Dr. O. H. Mowrer at the University of Illinois in 1953.  After working as a clinician at a neuropsychiatric hospital and later at an outpatient clinic, he accepted an appointment as clinical instructor at Kent State.  In due course, he inaugurated a therapeutic community, called Community House, based on the concept that those receiving help were also purveyors of help.

Now retired, Bixenstine resides in Kent with his wife of 65 years, Anita, with whom he shares five children and 14 grandchildren.  In his spare time Bixenstine has been known to participate in duathlons, having claimed the gold medal within his age group at the ITU Duathlon World Championships on nine occasions.

For more information, please visit the official "O. H. Mowrer's Theory of Integrity Therapy Revisited" website at www.integritytherapy.net, find Bixenstine on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vedwin.bixenstine or email him at [email protected].

Media Contact
Matt Bixenstine
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330-571-1797
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SOURCE V. Edwin Bixenstine