Must-Read Books For Therapists
The books contained in this session are all must-read pieces of literature to anyone with a desire to dive into the broad field of psychology and understand more about what makes the study of the mind and behavior be so compelling and complex. All of these texts will provide deep reflections about our own humanity and functioning, and may change the way you view these subjects.
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“Letters to a Young Therapist” by Mary Pipher
In Letters to a Young Therapist, Dr. Pipher shares what she has learned in thirty years as a therapist, helping warring families, alienated adolescents, and harried professionals restore peace and beauty to their lives. Letters to a Young Therapist gives voice to her practice with an exhilarating mix of storytelling and sharp-eyed observation. And while her letters are addressed to an imagined young therapist, every one of us can take something away from them.
“Love’s Executioner” by Irvin D. Yalom
In this engrossing book, Irvin Yalom gives detailed and deeply affecting accounts of his work with these and seven other patients. Deep down, all of them were suffering from the basic human anxieties – isolation, fear of death or freedom, a sense of the meaninglessness of life – that none of us can escape completely. And yet, as the case histories make touchingly clear, it is only by facing such anxieties head on that we can hope to come to terms with them and develop. Throughout, Dr Jalom remains refreshingly frank about his own errors and prejudices; his book provides a rare glimpse into the consulting room of a master therapist.
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
“On Training to Be A Therapist: The Long and Winding Road to Qualification” by John Karter
Having become aware during his own training of the enormous and varied pressures that students of psychotherapy and counselling have to face, the author seeks to explore the professional and personal difficulties engendered by this often destabilizing process from what he terms a ‘student’s eye view’. The fundamental objective of the book is to confront these demands and difficulties and to highlight the fact that therapy training can and should be an enjoyable and fulfilling process in itself. Among the many issues looked at are the ways in which training can change us as people, how it can affect our personal relationships, difficult issues with clients, personal therapy, and many more. On Training to be a Therapist is aimed principally at psychotherapy and counselling students, but will also appeal to qualified practitioners, tutors and supervisors looking for a different perspective.
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“The Gift of Therapy” by Irvin D. Yalom
The culmination of master psychiatrist Dr. Irvin D. Yalom’s more than thirty-five years in clinical practice, The Gift of Therapy is a remarkable and essential guidebook that illustrates through real case studies how patients and therapists alike can get the most out of therapy. The author shares his uniquely fresh approach and the valuable insights he has gained—presented as eighty-five personal and provocative “tips for beginner therapists,” including letting the patient matter to you; acknowledging your errors; creating a new therapy for each patient, and many more. A book aimed at enriching the therapeutic process for a new generation of patients and counselors, Yalom’s Gift of Therapy is an entertaining and insightful read for anyone with an interest in the subject.
“The Zen of Helping” by Andrew Bein
Bring compassion, self-awareness, radical acceptance, practitioner presence, and caring to the relationships you have with you patients by utilizing the advice in The Zen of Helping: Spiritual Principles for Mindful and Open-Hearted Practice. As a mental health professional, you will appreciate the vivid metaphors, case examples, personal anecdotes, quotes and poems in this book and use them as a spiritual foundation for your professional practice. Connect Zen Buddhism with your human service and address issues like dealing with your own responses to your client’s trauma and pain.
“When Psychological Problems Mask Medical Disorders” by James Morrison
Widely regarded as a standard clinical resource, this book helps practitioners think outside the mental health box and recognize when a client may need a medical evaluation. Part I provides an accessible overview of symptoms that can be observed in a standard mental status examination and may point to medical illness. Engaging case vignettes and interviewing pointers help readers hone their diagnostic skills. Part II presents concise facts–including basic medical information and physical and mental symptoms–on more than 60 diseases and syndromes. An easy-to-read chart in Part III cross-tabulates all of the disorders and symptoms for quick reference and comparison.
“Vielleicht solltest du mal mit jemandem darüber reden” von Lori Gottlieb (“Maybe You Should Talk to Someone”)
An memoir about psychotherapeutic practice as experienced by both the clinician and the patient. One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients’ lives – a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can’t stop hooking up with the wrong guys – she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
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