The Value of Psychological Treatment

Book excerpt: Volume II: "Nicholas Cummings has been called a lot of things in his life ... entrepreneur is one of them. The Cummings legacy will be voluminous and manifold. His contributions to the field have spanned the many definitions of practicing psychology – from education to policy, from business to ongoing exploration. He has been predicting trends, cautioning those who would listen, and negotiating the obstacles to efficacious delivery of quality therapeutic services for over half a century. With this book, we pause once again to revisit some of the most important of his projects as an entrepreneur. Editors Thomas, Cummings, and O’Donohue took on a difficult task when they set out to convince Cummings to tell the story behind the story of how and why he created the various organizations selected here. Of course, he balked at the idea of "showing off" these successes, but the editors were finally able to persuade him of the potential benefit to readers. First, there is the revelation of psychologist as entrepreneur and the delicate balance that is required in order to proceed in this direction with integrity and effectiveness. More important, these organizations were for the most part conceived of as being in service to the profession or to its legislators rather than being focused on profits. Their success, therefore, has had more than a little to do with strengthening the ability of the field to move forward even as it is pulled in different directions. In the end, Nick Cummings decided to tell the story behind the story and readers will be very glad he did. Part history, part memoir, this is a fascinating whodunit, and each time you’ll find Nick Cummings ... seeing the need, envisioning a way to meet it, and then doing it!"--