Buy Therapy

Review by Tw Rutledge:

Twenty years ago when I read Irvin Yalom’s Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, I knew that I wanted to be a psychotherapist. These 20 years later, reading The Gift of Therapy, I am reminded that I made an excellent choice.Irv Yalom’s “open letter to a new generation of therapists and their patients” speaks to three essential aspects of myself: the psychotherapist, the human being, and the writer.As a psychotherapist I am validated for thinking outside the traditional boxes and challenged to keep learning with every client I see. Yalom offers everything from specific suggested questions to ask clients to the wisdom of his experience such as “therapy should not be theory-driven, but relationship-driven,” and “though the physicality of death destroys us, the idea of death can save us.”As a human being I am reminded that there is seldom — if ever — only one valid explanation for how we become who we are. And I am enlightened by Yalom’s reminder of Paul Tilich’s list of four “ultimate concerns” — death, isolation, meaning, and freedom.As a writer I am thoroughly entertained by how Yalom puts a sentence together. For instance, speaking of the importance of dream interpretation in therapy, he writes, “Pillage and loot the dream, take out of it whatever seems valuable, and don’t fret about the discarded shell.”Most of all, as I close my now well-worn, underlined and dog-eared copy of Irv Yalom’s new book, I am inspired by the man and the psychotherapist who has been, and remains, a hero of mine. (I suppose Irv would consider that literary transference.)Bottomline: great book for therapists and non-therapists alike.

Review by Suzanne Retzinger:

The Gift of Therapy
by Irvin Yalom, M.D.
Reviewed by Suzanne M. Retzinger, Ph.D. Waiting for my brother to complete his three-hour dialysis, I browsed the bookshelf provided for the waiting. I came across Love’s Executioner and read it for the first time. I had read Yalom’s Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy text in grad school – like all requirements. Now he grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to listen – inspired, I had to read more and found The Gift of Therapy (2003, Perennial edition; 263 pages .95). Yalom is the first, of many that I’ve read on the therapeutic relationship, who doesn’t “talk” about the therapeutic relationship – but “shows” it – a path for the bold to venture, a real connection between therapist and patient. My interest in his work lies in his openness about his own feelings and how he uses them therapeutically. Nothing, he says, “takes precedence over care and maintenance of my relationship to the patient,… and how we regard each other.” Most patients come to therapy starving for intimacy, their conflicts being precisely in this area – and it is the therapeutic relationship, itself, that creates change. For this reason, the “blank screen” model is far from what Yalom sees as effective patient therapist relationship; he sees therapist opaqueness as counterproductive. Because of the alienated nature of many clients’ lives, the here and now space between therapist and patient is what matters. It’s about the space that we create with our clients and how we use that space – “the betweenness”. Yalom spells out 3 levels of therapist transparency that can be productive or not, asking of each, “is this disclosure in the best interest of the client?”. Standardization, he believes, renders therapy less effective, threatening therapist spontaneity. Therapy is a journey – and in Yalom’s view the therapist and client are “fellow travelers”. Whatever relationship there is, we build together with our clients. Be “prepared to go wherever the patient goes” – The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose (Walt Whitman – Song of the Open Road). The relationship is key – I know – I’ve heard this from the beginning: in school, supervision, exam study courses, yatta, yatta, yatta. But at the same time I hear “don’t get too close”, or “reveal anything about yourself”, “god forbid you touch a client” – a double message – the unspoken message: hold your nose, close your eyes, use a 10-foot pole. In my first career – research – I learned to jump in with all I have – open my eyes, my ears and each and every sense, throw away that pole. Yalom breathes life into therapy by attending to the inbetweens, the emotions that arise in this space and discussion of this process with the patient. Western culture is awash in alienation; therapy is a process that can renew intimacy for those who choose this path. It is a “dress rehearsal for life”, says Yalom. Affect and analysis are altering sequences, microcosms of our patients’ lives that must be examined for lasting change to occur. Feelings, thoughts, words along with their analysis are not taboo; they are the stuff of intimacy. We must not confuse intimacy with sex, Yalom says. Sex is always inappropriate with clients, intimacy is not. Yalom expresses his concern with the direction the mental health field has taken. With the growing alienation in our world, people are becoming less important. Even in our profession we see fewer sessions provided by HMO’s, medication in place of human contact, focus on technique, fear of intimacy because of lawsuits. In this age of pharmaceuticals, HMOs, and lawsuits, is the relationship being lost? This book (as well as his others) is a wakeup call, a reminder for us all – the experienced as well and the novice – that we are in the business of healing relationships and not to loose them in the shuffle. Since that first day at the dialysis center where I found Love’s Executioner, I’ve read much of what Yalom has written. It’s not only the brilliance of what he writes that draws me in, but the way he writes that touches me. His books are “serious, down to earth, and pulse with levity and life”.

Yalom’s book The Gift of Therapy is a gift to therapists past, present, and future. Like Yalom, we need to `show’ and not `tell’ our clients the road to connectedness. My hope is that this, and other works like this, will not be lost in a world so desperately in need of human connection.

Review by A.W.:

I’ve read a lot of self-help, pop-psych books targeted at dealing with strong emotions. Most of them seemed true & helpful at the time I was reading them, but fell apart when I tried applying them to life. This book is not only easy to use while you are using it, but it is easy to recall later in the day, or the week, or even a few months later, and easy to use the techniques. I even find myself suggesting techniques to friends who share emotionally-distressing situations with me. Later, my friends report that it was some of the best advice they’ve gotten.

I also have Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Put You in Control (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook), which seems to be the same general idea, but didn’t seem to be as helpful for me. I just wish that therapists trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy were more widespread and easier to find. Highly recommended book for anyone who is working on dealing with overwhelming emotions.

Review by Carla Blair:

I picked up the DBT workbook to learn how to help a good friend who suffers from bi-polar disorder. It improved our interactions with each other, and in working through the exercises I discovered practical ways to thwart depression and manage my own emotions. This book’s for anyone who suffers from depression, anger, anxiety or just wants to have a little more control over their emotions.

Review by A. Christie:

Psychologist and Police Consultant, Alex Delaware is back to help Homicide Detective, Milo Sturgis investigate the killing of two young adults murdered in a Lover’s Lane type setting. The fact that a metal spike, along with a gunshot wound, impaled the woman indicates more than a routine killing. The woman remains unidentified, but the young man turns out to have had a personality change due to a recent car accident. He was seeing noted celebrity psychologist, Dr. Mary Lou Koppel, for his problems. Through the investigation, another similarly murdered patient of Dr. Koppel’s comes to light. Before long, Dr. Koppel herself is found murdered. The killings seem to be linked; and Alex and Milo work to find what how.I usually love the Alex Delaware series and this one started out well enough, but about half way through the book, it turned deadly dull. The characters were not likable and I could just not care what happened to any of them. It was bad enough that the plot was uninteresting, but it turned ridiculous as well. Alex Delaware’s personal story was hardly explored at all. First time Alex Delaware readers will be at a loss to know anything about his backstory even though his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend both make an appearance in the story. First half of the book was perhaps 4 stars and the second half 2 stars for an average of 3 even though it pains me to rate one of my favorite authors so low.

Review by Ratmammy:

THERAPY by Jonathan Kellerman

August 24, 2004

THERAPY is Jonathan Kellerman’s latest Alex Delaware novel. In this novel, Alex and Milo Sturgis are on a mission to figure out the connection between a murder that has just occurred in Beverly Hills, and one that happened previously and left unsolved. The victims of the first murder are a man and a woman, found shot and stabbed in a car parked outside a Beverly Hills home. It almost appears to be a sexually motivated murder, judging by the positions the couple was left in at the murder scene. The male victim was seeing a therapist, Mary Lou Koppel, and that is where the investigation begins. The previously murdered woman was also found in a sexual position, and is later found to have been going to therapy as well.

The connection between the two is rather flimsy until Dr Koppel herself gets murdered. There is definitely a link between all three, and it is up to Alex and Milo to find out the connection.

I’ve only read a handful of Alex Delaware novels, and I have enjoyed them all, but this one was the least favorite so far. I found myself losing interest during parts of the novel, which were filled with a lot of political rhetoric. I didn’t think there was a need to go into that much detail in a novel such as this. A few paragraphs would have sufficed. I also was not happy with the ending, feeling that there were some unanswered questions that could have been resolved. All in all, however, I do recommend THERAPY but for new fans of Jonathan Kellerman, I suggest starting with one of his older novels.

Review by Harriet Klausner:

Suffering from several unexplained illnesses, twelve year old Josy Larenz vanishes while visiting her twenty-second medical expert Dr. Grohlke. No one saw her disappear and no evidence as to what happened surfaces. As the case turns cold, Josy’s father psychologist Viktor Larenz searches the most minute clue that could lead him to the whereabouts of his daughter as he remains hopeful, but would even settle on the closure of her corpse. His obsession destroys his marriage to Isabel whom he admires for her inner fortitude that he now knows he lacks and costs him his TV show. For all his efforts, he fails to find one iota of a trace of Josy.

Four years later, Viktor intellectually knows he remains in the denial stage of grief, but cannot move on as psychologically he is still devastated. He has fled society choosing to live as a hermit on an isolated North Sea island. Anna Glass arrives to talk to him. She claims to be a writer of nonfiction whose characters come alive; though no longer practicing psychology, Viktor believes the beautiful stranger suffers from schizophrenia. However he becomes intrigued when Anna discusses her characterization of a preadolescent girl suffering from an unidentified illness before vanishing. She knows she needs help and Viktor grudgingly agrees to provide therapy even as he wonders who Anna Glass truly is and is she the first clue to finding Josy.

This is a deep psychological thriller as the two prime characters are emotionally unbalanced and the third key player is the missing girl. Readers will sympathize with Viktor and empathize with his ex wife though she has limited appearances. Anna is an enigma as the audience wonders whether she is a crazy person, a con artist, or a killer. Fans will be hooked by the translation of Sebastian Fitzek’s powerful character driven tale with a fabulous climax.

Harriet Klausner

Review by E. Bukowsky:

In Sebastian Fitzek’s “Therapy,” forty-seven year old Dr. Viktor Larenz is “an eminent psychiatrist with a successful clinic in central Berlin” who “is the author of numerous books and was once a regular guest on radio and TV.” He has a wife, Isabell, and an eleven-year old daughter, Josy, whom he adores. Sadly, Larenz experiences a mental breakdown and is admitted to a facility for treatment. What precipitated his emotional collapse? It seems that his little girl had been ill for almost a year, with symptoms that her doctors could not trace to any obvious cause. Josy starts out with vomiting and diarrhea and later suffers from seizures, infections, and nosebleeds. Then, something even more dreadful occurs. Josy vanishes, and her father is beside himself with grief.

“Therapy” veers from the present to the past and then back to the present, as Larenz’s therapist, Dr. Roth, attempts to unlock the secrets of his patient’s disordered psyche. Viktor recounts his stay in his family’s island cottage four years after his child’s disappearance. One day, an intruder enters his house. She is a mysterious woman named Anna Glass, who may have important information about Josy’s fate. Although he no longer practices medicine, Larenz agrees to treat Anna, hoping that they can bring one another the closure that they desperately seek.

Sally-Ann Spencer skillfully translates this tale of obsession and self-delusion from the original German. Fitzek plays with us, allowing us glimpses of the truth and then throwing us off the scent. The canny reader will probably guess what is going on long before the book’s denouement, but there are some surprising developments that few will foresee. Larenz is a tragic yet sympathetic hero. We identify with his pain and torment, even as we dread finding out the reason for his bizarre behavior. When Viktor decides to face reality, he suspects that doing so will cost him the little sanity that he still possesses. “Therapy” is a bit too gimmicky to work as a literary thriller, but it is a mesmerizing and fast-paced novel that effectively explores the most twisted recesses of the human mind.

Review by :

After reading a lot of *same old, same old* art therapy books, I was absolutely thrilled to discover THE ART THERAPY SOURCEBOOK. There are so many art therapy books that are dense and poorly written; Malchiodi is a clear and articulate writer who provides a savvy overview of the field of art therapy in a style that is inviting and exciting. Even if you have never heard of art therapy before, this book will inspire you to want to try your hand at art and will encourage your creative process. As a teacher of art therapy, I require all my first year art therapy and counseling students to read this book and as a therapist, I encourage my clients to read it too. Bravo! I look forward to more books by this author!

Review by :

At last there is a book on art therapy which is clear, well-written, and comprehensive. If you want to buy one book on art therapy, this one is excellent and I cannot recommend it enough. There are numerous illustrations, exercises, and examples of how art therapy can be used for personal transformation and healing. Also, read the endorsements, they speak more eloquently to the book’s contents and inspirational qualities than I can.

Review by L. Knight:

I got three of these books by Liana Lowenstein and I find them very valuable in my therapy work with children and adolescents. I am a beginning therapist so I still rely heavily on resources like this to get the creative juices flowing. The only thing that is missing from this book, but present in the others, is a list in front that tells what the intervention is suitable for, suggested age range and treatment mode (individual, group or family).

Review by Andrea L. Warnick:

Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques

As with Lowenstein’s other books, this book is an incredible resource for novice and experienced practitioners alike. A compilation of activities from over 50 practitioners, the book is both well organized and extremely user-friendly. I highly recommend this resource to any mental health professional who works with children, adolescents, and families.

Andrea Warnick, RN, BScN, MA, (Counsellor, Max and Beatrice Wolfe Centre for Children’s Grief and Palliative Care)

Review by Yehuda Krohn, PsyD:

This is a well crafted book. The author introduces, in language easily understood by pre-teens, a broad range of components found in psychodynamically oriented therapy. My sense is that this book can (and does) increase even a somewhat resistant client’s capacity for engaging in the therapeutic process.

One concern of mine is that, because of its thoroughness, the book is somewhat on the long side and, hence, difficult to read from beginning to end. The children who sit in my waiting room, though, are undeterred. On at least one occasion, the book has disappeared, only to reappear a week or two later. Overall, I believe that “Feeling Better”, is an excellent investment for the office or waiting room of any child therapist.

Review by F. T. Morris:

This is a subject that can be difficult to write about, but Ms. Rashkin does an excellent job of making visiting a therapist seem like the healthiest choice to make. It is not sugar-coated, nor is it simplistic, but rather brings up all the realistic difficulties and positives of therapy. The author does not talk down to her audience, but clearly and warmly presents a gentle matter of fact approach. This book can really be helpful to those young people considering or are in therapy. Yeah!

Review by Rocco B. Rubino:

Dr. Leahy has provided a first-class resource of techniques for the problem-solving oriented clinician to use.

This book is laid out in a logical format; you are shown the technique, the rationale, given clinical vignettes, possible obstacles, cross-references to other techniques to be used in conjunction or perhaps instead of a particular method, as well as a homework assignment for the client. This resource reflects the wisdom born out by many years of practice, as well as understanding how the mind thinks and operates; responses rooted in compassion and an empathy for the human condition.

Dr. Leahy focuses on concepts, from automatic thoughts to schema-focused therapy. This resource is necessary for the clinician not just because of the variety techniques, there are actual handouts for the therapist and the client to use.

I relied heavily on this book during my counseling internship as a go-to resource with very good results. I plan on using this book, as well as the others that Dr. Leahy has written, to inform my practice for many years to come. The homework assignments as well as the forms proved to be very practical and useful for the client.

This book is highly recommended for the novice as well as the veteran practioner alike. 5+ Stars. A must have for your professional library. I cannot recommend this book enough! It was so helpful!

Review by Wong Chi Kin:

The book contained many essential cognitive restructuring skills, schema work and emotional regulation methods for CBT therapist to make us in their daily practice. There are many forms available for daily application, and this is a good reference.

Review by Bill Chaisson:

David Lodge writes in such a breezy, amusing fashion that you might not think to look for anything more in _Therapy_ than a funny story about a neurotic middle aged guy. But, in fact, there is a lot going on in this book. Kierkegaard is not merely added to the plot as some sort of comic device to indicate that Tubby Passmore is off his head. This book actually explains how the thought of the “father of existentialism” is relevant to our lives in the late, late 20th century.There is a fair amount of social class consciousness in _Therapy_. Tubby is from the working class but has made a fortune by writing a successful television series. In a certain sense he is the best that we can hope for from the nouveau riche: he is humane in spite of his wealth. His wife came from genteel poverty and has aged into a rather severe and vain woman. His friend Amy has risen from the working middle class into the show biz upper middle and more fully embraces the materialism and pretension than does Tubby. The quest to rediscover the whereabouts of his childhood girlfriend combines the themes of existentialism and class consciousness in a way that is both effortless and admirable.The entire book is told from Tubby’s point of view, written in the form of a journal and monologues. His reliability as a narrator is called into question by the content of the monologues until you realize who the author is. A very clever narrative device, but not overly clever. You don’t feel manipulated because of the revelations that it produces.I think perhaps that the only reason I have for not giving the book 5 stars is that I am not yet middle aged and so I didn’t experience the Internal Derangement of the Mind that I might if (or when) I read this book 20 years from now.

Review by D. Domingo-Foraste:

This is an excellent novel by a master of the comic serious, David Lodge. The story is covered in the back cover and other reviews, but I would add that the meaning of this novel and its structure are among the most innovative and genuinely engaging I have seen. Many postmodern novels, a term at which no doubt David Lodge would wince, are structured to allow the reader to impose his own understanding of the facts through intricate structures; but rarely are they deeply engaging. The average comic novel, though entertaining, has little to say. This work has both an elusive structure and engaging comic touches. It also has something important to say. It has the potential to become a work read 50 to 100 years from now despite the topical references to mid 1990′s Britain. I won’t spoil it for you because all will be revealed. Suffice it to say that our protagonist chooses to live in the present rejecting the despair of the unrecoverable past and the hopeless future.

Review by K. R. Moore:

This book is not only easy to read, but you learn so much information and actually understand it. It is difficult to find a book that teaches new practitioners technique without going over their heads. Great Job on this one! I am recommending for all of my classmates in our Masters Program.

Review by Rocco B. Rubino:

Much more practical that Dr. Beck’s “Basics and Beyond” work, this book breaks down the CBT process into bite-sized pieces so that even the most novice of practioners can get their head around this highly effective, yet complex mode of treatment.

The authors are cogent in their explanations and illustrations of concepts. This book is the perfect introduction to CBT and will allow the practioner to benefit from more advanced resources, such as those offered by Dr. Robert Leahy (resources I highly recommend).

First class resource. A must have.