The Breggin Impact

Abstract

As we move through life, many people knowingly and unknowingly influence our journey. Peter R. Breggin impacted my life in a significant way. In 1995 he came to George Washington University to speak to a graduate student seminar in counseling. At the time, I was professor and director of the counseling program. In sharing his story with the group, Peter discussed several interesting events in his professional career. However, I am sure that he was unaware that he ignited in me a burning desire to explore two of the ideas that he touched on that day-love and depression. Although I had always considered these two concepts in the development of my existential approach to counseling, after hearing Peter's presentation, I understood them in a different light. In their book, The War Against Children, Breggin and Breggin (1994) argue that love is basic to the healthy development of human beings. In a recent chapter on existential therapy, I (Vontress, 2008 ) followed up on this idea in making the case that love is essential to human existence. Starting early in life, it presupposes an individual's self-awareness and ability to empathize with others. The most important person to the fetus is the mother, in whose womb it resides. Feeling oneness with her, it develops a neurological network in which love is basic. After birth, the neonate's organism is affected positively and negatively by the way it is treated during the early stages of life (Janov, 2000). Binswanger (1975) coined the German word Mitwelt to communicate the existential and imperative connection that we have with our fellows. Love is an important ingredient of that linkage. It is the glue that ensures human togetherness that is indispensable to life. The neonate would not survive long without the love, care, and support of the mother. Her hugs release good-feeling chemicals in the child's brain. These are the biochemicals of love. As adults, individuals who have experienced love from their parents are apt to transfer it to others. They are inclined to continue to seek love and intimacy throughout their existence. For people, love and intimacy are liberating and healing. Instruments for connecting with others, love and intimacy provide a sense of self (Gallagher, 1975). They also add meaning to life. Love is so basic to human existence that being able to exchange it with another person has implications for mental health. According to Ornish (1998), the child's perception of parental love and caring is a powerful predictor of future psychological well-being. Children reared without being hugged and touched early in life are likely to reveal high stress levels as adults. They also may grow up feeling that indeed they are unlovable. The impression can lead to depression and a lifelong search for palliatives, such as drugs and alcohol, to relieve the pain often associated with the absence of love. Sartre (1953), an existentialist, discussed love at length. To him, it involved the merging of two human beings, each simultaneously a subject and object. Although individuals usually perceive the other person as an object, mutual lovers, in merging their consciousness, overcome the tendency to objectify each other. They become a spiritual unity. Each sees the self, their partner, and the world in a more positive light than they did when they were separate and alone. According to Simone de Beauvoir (1953), Sartre's life companion and lover, genuine love between two people is based on reciprocity and equality. Each person is perceived as equal. Love is spontaneous and mutual. Neither feels superior to the other, because of gender, race, nationality, or cultural differences. Love transcends all. What they are as a couple is more important than what they were as individuals. Their togetherness is spiritually binding and uplifting. It transcends their former oneness. Love is therapeutic. Breggin's (1991) discussion of culture, ethnicity, and psychiatric diagnosis spurred my scholarship. …