R. D. Laing's Existential-Humanistic Practice: What was he Actually Doing?

Laing was one of the most celebrated clinicians of his day. At the 1985 Evolution of Psychotherapy conference (sponsored by the Erickson Institute), Laing spotted a disheveled bag lady (whom some would label psychotic) entering the lecture hall. Spontaneously, and in the middle of his talk, he walked over to the woman and began to converse with her. After some time had elapsed, and the woman's disposition improved, Salvador Minuchin, a celebrated clinician in his own right, stood up and declared that Laing's contact with this woman was one of the finest examples of therapy that he had ever witnessed. Throughout Laing's formidable career, there have been a variety of such testaments to his work. Some of these testaments came from Laing himself and others came from those who witnessed his mastery.

In this paper I address one overarching question: What was Laing actually doing in these sanctified encounters with clients-and how did he do it so quickly? I argue that part of what Laing was doing had already been eloquently outlined by existential-humanistic writers, as Laing himself conceded. But I also argue that Laing brought something unique to existential-humanistic practice, something that had not quite been characterized before, and that has yet to be substantively articulated. Furthermore, I believe that this something is at the frontier, not just of existential-humanistic practice, but of all practice that strives