Performing Psychology consists of essays and stage plays by and about Fred Newman, the controversial American philosopher, psychotherapist, playwright and political activist for whom psychology, social action, human development and performance are one. The reader is invited into dialogues currently taking place among psychologists, philosophers, artists, and community activists on such topics as: the nature of human subjectivity; the relationship of theater to human development; the status of traditional science in a postmodern world; the process of therapy and diagnosis; and the re-initiation of creativity and growth.

Arguing that both psychological activity and its study are essentially performance, Newman and his colleagues expose the myths of mainstream psychology and the limitations of its postmodern challengers. More than an academic critique, Performing Psychology offers a new methodology for understanding human life.