{"product_id":"soul-magic-a-century-of-psychotherapy-9781805332374","title":"Soul Magic: A Century of Psychotherapy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat is a human being? Where does neurosis begin? Is sexual desire truly the engine of thought? Can fear, trauma and depression ever be cured? And what, by the way, is the meaning of life?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this vivid and gripping account, psychologist Steve Ayan takes us back to fin-de-siècle Vienna, where a bold new idea was born: that psychotherapy could heal the mind. This is the enthralling story of how Freud, Jung, Adler, and their contemporaries revolutionised the way we understand ourselves - giving rise to psychotherapy, a field that would forever reshape Western culture.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith captivating storytelling and deep insight, Ayan unpacks the dreams, rivalries, and obsessions of these early visionaries. More than simply a historical account, this book explores the lasting legacy of their work, revealing how the promise of personal transformation became a modern fixture of society - and how the questions they raised still echo in our lives today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781805332374\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 21 Jul 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Scholastic US\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eSteve Ayan is a German psychologist, scientific journalist and author. He studied psychology, literary translation and science journalism in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Reading and Naples. He is editor-in-chief at the magazine \u003ci\u003eGehirn\u0026amp;Geist\u003c\/i\u003e. His research specialises in consciousness research, moral psychology and psychotherapy. Ayan lives in Heidelberg, Germany.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eAyan's evocative storytelling reveals a fascinating cultural and intellectual history of psychotherapy. . . Soul Magic invites us to reconsider the legendary figures who shaped our 'talking cure', as well as the 'magic' for our soul that we could expect from it -- Julia Bueno, author of Everyone's a Critic\u003cbr\u003eA captivating insight into a century full of ideas, conflicts, and personal dramas. For anyone interested in psychology and its history, this book is a delightful read. Enriched with numerous historical images, it transports readers to a bygone century while entertainingly teaching the history of psychology * MDR Wissen *\u003cbr\u003eA brilliant writer. He masterfully combines anecdote with analysis, characters and their theory * Tages-Anzeiger *\u003cbr\u003eA really, really good storyteller. . . The fact that he tells the story so richly is precisely the great strength of this book * Deutschlandfunk Kultur *\u003cbr\u003eIt's fascinating to read how all the forms of psychology that concern us today had their beginnings around a hundred years ago - even those expressed in self-help gurus, keynote speakers, and influencers * Galore *\u003cbr\u003eIt is extremely refreshing how Ayan, saturated with facts and biographical knowledge, goes against the grain of psychoanalysis. A salutary demystification that should give us food for thought even today * Frankfurter Neue Presse *\u003cbr\u003eEngrossing, humane and intellectually ambitious, Soul Magic illuminates not only psychotherapy's evolution, but the wider cultural and spiritual crises of the modern world * Irish Times *","brand":"Steve Ayan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49041643339993,"sku":"9781805332374","price":55.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781805332374.jpg?v=1785937082","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/soul-magic-a-century-of-psychotherapy-9781805332374","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}