Exploring and Treating Acquisitive Desire

Living in the Material World

This book demonstrates how what we own can control us - the terminal stage of the social disease of acquisitive desire for material things. Topics covered include: what acquisitive desire means in people's lives; diagnosis and treatment of consumer disorders; interventions and clinical issues for those who follow an excessively materialistic lifestyle; how therapists and therapy are treated as possessions to flaunt; and the struggles of therapists with their own acquisitive desires. Jeffrey Kottler does not recommend giving up all attachment to things, but makes clear that satisfaction comes not from owning possessions, but from their legitimate use for amusement, stimulation or learning.