Compassionate Child-Rearing

In this revolutionary work, Dr. Firestone develops the theory and underlying dynamics involved in disturbed family relationships and the “poisonous pedagogy” that characterizes generally accepted patterns of child-rearing. The author expands on the phenomenological descriptions of the traditional abuses of children previously offered by Alice Miller, R.D. Laing, James Garbarino, and others, and explains how well-intentioned parents unwittingly injure their children’s self-esteem and psychological functioning. “I want to close with a personal plea to professionals and parents alike to consider their own humanity and the humanity of children, to give value to their own lives and their experiences in spite of painful existential issues. I hope that we can move beyond our limitations and reach out to children in a way that will spare them so much unnecessary suffering . . . this book is dedicated to parents: the lost children.” –Robert W. Firestone

In this revolutionary work, Dr. Firestone develops the theory and underlying dynamics involved in disturbed family relationships and the “poisonous pedagogy” that characterizes generally accepted patterns of child-rearing. The author expands on the phenomenological descriptions of the traditional abuses of children previously offered by Alice Miller, R.D. Laing, James Garbarino, and others, and explains how well-intentioned parents unwittingly injure their children’s self-esteem and psychological functioning. “I want to close with a personal plea to professionals and parents alike to consider their own humanity and the humanity of children, to give value to their own lives and their experiences in spite of painful existential issues. I hope that we can move beyond our limitations and reach out to children in a way that will spare them so much unnecessary suffering . . . this book is dedicated to parents: the lost children.” –Robert W. Firestone

Robert W. Firestone Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author and artist, who has established a comprehensive body of written work and film focused on understanding how defenses are formed and how they impact human behavior and personal relationships. The primary emphasis of Dr. Firestone’s theory has centered on the study of resistance in psychotherapy. From his initial work as a psychotherapist with schizophrenic patients under the auspices of Dr. John N. Rosen, Dr. Firestone summarized his conceptualizations about schizophrenia in a theoretical dissertation entitled “A Concept of the Schizophrenic Process,” (University of Denver Doctoral Dissertation, 1957). Dr. Firestone was engaged in the private practice of psychotherapy from 1957 to 1979 working with a wide range of patients, expanding his original ideas on schizophrenia, and applying these concepts to a theory of neurosis. In 1979, he joined the Glendon Association as its consulting theorist. Dr. Firestone’s major publications include The Fantasy Bond, Compassionate Child-Rearing, Fear of Intimacy, and Beyond Death Anxiety: Life-Affirming Death Awareness. Dr. Firestone’s 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, Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships, The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships, and most recently The Self under Siege. In collaboration with his daughter, Dr. Lisa Firestone, he has developed three assessment instruments: The Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts [FAST], The Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent [FASI] (2006) and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts [FAVT] (2008) (Adult and Adolescent versions (2009, Psychological Assessment Resources, PAR).