The Cure of Souls is a provocative investigation into the role and impact of the "institution" of psychotherapy in the modern world. Robert L. Woolfolk explores the influence of the basic tenets of psychotherapy on western cultures and, in turn, the influence of modern western cultures on the assumptions inherent to psychotherapy. This work stands at the intersection of several disciplines - psychological theory, clinical and counseling psychology, humanistic psychology, the history of psychotherapy, and analytic and "continental" philosophy. It draws on Woolfolk's philosophical investigations and clinical experience to examine psychotherapy from philosophical, sociological, and historical perspectives. Through this wide-angle lens, Woolfolk considers the relative place of science and values in the goals and processes of psychotherapy.