Basic Information More Information An Interview with Bruce Ecker, M.A., L.M.F.T., on Coherence Therapy An Interview with Bruce Ecker, MA, on Memory Reconsolidation and Psychotherapy An Interview with Jon Frederickson, MSW, on Experiential Psychodynamic Psychotherapy An Interview with Joshua Lerner, MA, LCSW, on the History of Object Relations Theory An Interview with Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., on Existential Humanistic Psychotherapy An Interview with Leslie Greenberg, PhD, on Emotion-Focused Therapy An Interview with Wilma Bucci, Ph.D., on Psychoanalysis and Cognitive Science Boundaries and Dysfunctional Family Systems Cognitive Restructuring Humanistic Psychotherapy Learning Theory Post-Cognitive Psychotherapy Repression Transference Wise Counsel Interview Podcast: Myrna Weissman, Ph.D. on Interpersonal Psychotherapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Alan Rappoport, Ph.D. on Control-Mastery Theory Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Annie Fahy, MSW on Motivational Interviewing Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Becky LaFountain, Ph.D. on Adlerian Psychology and Psychotherapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Dr. Jürgen Kriz on Self-Actualization and Person Centered Psychotherapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Fern Cohen, Ph.D. on whether Psychoanalysis is Dead Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jeffrey Young Ph.D. on Schema Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with John Clarkin, Ph.D. on Transference-Focused Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy - Part 1 Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy - Part 2 Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Laris Macpherson on the Therapy Client's Experience Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. on Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Natalie Rogers, Ph.D. on Expressive Arts Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Otto Kernberg, MD on Transference Focused Therapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Raul Moncayo, Ph.D. on Lacanian Psychoanalysis Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Richard Shulman, Ph.D. on Volunteers in Psychotherapy Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Shinzen Young on Mindfulness Meditation Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Steven Hayes, PhD on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Latest News Questions and Answers Blog Entries An Interview with Daniel Strunk, Ph.D., on Cognitive Therapy for Depression Does Hypnosis Work? Schema Therapy Basics What Happens During Group Therapy? What Do You Value in a Therapist? Which Type of Therapeutic Group is Right for You? Is The Therapist Ever A Patient? The Health Benefits of Psychotherapy Psychotherapy, Boundaries and Ethics Is My Therapist Helping Me? Psychotherapy vs. Medication for Depression, Anxiety and Other Mental Illnesses Psychotherapy, Skype and Videocam Technology Therapy and Exercise: Do They Go Together? Can Stress Diminish the Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Budget Cuts and Mental Health Care Of Self-Compassion and Connection to Others Faith in God and Psychotherapy Outcomes Psychotherapy For The Elderly The Importance of the Relationship in Counseling and Psychotherapy Journaling and Mental Health Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Another Type of Psychotherapy Valuing Therapy Is Liking Your Therapist Enough? Telehealth: A Modern Path to Wellness Attention Restoration Theory: Was Thoreau onto Something? Therapy and Medication May Be More Effective than Drugs Alone A Therapy Group for Everyone! Catch the (Brain) Wave: Can EEG Therapy Help Us Focus? Ecotherapy Peeling the Onion—Uncovering Our Wounds in Therapy An Interview with George Lough, Ph.D., on Somatic Experiencing An Interview with David S. Remmert, Ph.D. on Forensic Psychology The Dangers of Online Therapy How to Get the Most from your Couples Therapy Finding A Psychotherapist, A Cautionary Tale Using Skype and Phone with Clients An Interview with Diana Fosha, Ph.D., on Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) RAD: Children, False Information and Dangerous Therapies Using Technology to Treat OCD...A Good Idea or Not? Did 911 Reveal the Limitations of Psychology? CBT and Mindfulness for Social Anxiety: Train your Brain for Social Success Psychotherapy: Clarifying Some Misconceptions Tired or Bored: When Your Therapist Yawns Appointment #2, Turtle Sandwich When Should Therapists Disclose Their Personal Backgrounds? DBT Creator Shares Her Own Personal Struggles An Interview with Marshall Lewis, M.A., on Logotherapy Intentional Trance Formation Play Therapy: A Healing Tool for Children Tell Me a Little About Yourself An Interview with Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D., on Family Therapy Psychotherapy: What Can Go Wrong The Importance of Couples Counseling Freedom to Feel: An Introduction to the IPA and Deep-Feeling Therapies Online Counseling: An Online Counselor’s Perspective Online Counseling: Can Online Counseling Help Me? When You Are Angry At Your Therapist A Look at Faith and Spirituality in Mental Health: An Interview with Jena Morrow An Interview with Michael Edelstein, Ph.D., on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Online Mindfulness-Based Anxiety Therapy What Kind of Therapist am I? Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Insurance DBT-Family Skills Training: A Treatment Model for Families and Relatives of People with BPD Time to Know Needless: You Can Have Almost Anything You Want(So Long As You Don't Need It!) The Guilts: A Psychoanalytic and Cognitive View Reconsolidation: A Universal, Integrative Framework for Highly Effective Psychotherapy Behavior Disorders, Learning Your Diagnosis Mindfulness Therapy: Learning to Sit with Depression Mindfulness Meditation Therapy for PTSD Can Therapy Help You Change? The Quick Fix Online Mindfulness Therapy for Anxiety Are We Predisposed to Believe? Finding a Therapist Not Your Grandmother's CBT: My Experience with Cognitive Behavior Therapy Vote for Volunteers In Psychotherapy Organization Psychotherapy, Do We Really Want to Change? "Boundaries" as Moral Ideals An Interview with John Doe Transformed in Prison Harmful Therapy? A Disgruntled Ex-Therapy Client Speaks Her Piece Dissolve Frustration — Three Strategies You Can Begin Using Right Now The Deep Moralism of Mental Health Care Transference vs. Encounter in Psychotherapy The Hammer Theory of Pleasure and Pain: Rediscovering the Wisdom of Moderation The Necessity of Moral Engagement Telemental Health How Lucky Are You? The Strange Idea of "Therapeutic Neutrality" What are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills? Nothing To Prove and Nothing To Explain An Interview with Joshua Lerner, MA, LCSW, on the History of Object Relations Theory Virtue and Change Religion and Psychotherapy The "Fallen" Realities of Human Nature An Interview with Wilma Bucci, Ph.D., on Psychoanalysis and Cognitive Science Borderline Personality Disorder And The Ability To Understand Other People Not Feeling Motivated? Try Motivational Interviewing An Interview with Leslie Greenberg, PhD, on Emotion-Focused Therapy Cognitive Behavior Therapy On The iPhone Aiming Attention There's An App For That: Psychology On The iPhone Score Another One for Cognitive Therapy Transference Focused Psychotherapy Works and Psychoanalysis Is Not Dead Will and the Competitors for Your Attention Brainless, Then Mindless An Interview with Bruce Ecker, MA, on Memory Reconsolidation and Psychotherapy Common and Mature Defenses, and Beyond Considering the Consequences Asleep at the Wheel ACCEPTANCE—Even LESS than Meets the I! Muddling Through Operating the Creature You Inhabit An Interview with Robert Fancher, Ph.D., on Cultures of Healing Therapy And Neural Pathways Suggestion Do You Fear Success? Healing, Is It Just a Matter of Medication? Salience and Suggestion An Interview with Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., on Existential Humanistic Psychotherapy Is Blogging Good For You? Ordinary Trance Improving Therapy: What Can be Done? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder An Interview with Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Mindfulness at Work An Interview with Jon Frederickson, MSW, on Experiential Psychodynamic Psychotherapy STEPPS for Borderline Personality Disorder An Interview with Bruce Ecker, M.A., L.M.F.T., on Coherence Therapy Brain Neuroplasticity and Treatment Resistant Depression Swiss Psychiatrist Fights Fear with LSD An Interview with David Wallin, Ph.D. on the Implications of Attachment Theory for Psychotherapy When Your Therapist Goes On Vacation Diagnoses, Some Thoughts to Consider Psychotherapy - How It Works 3 Reasons You May Want Group Therapy Does Psychotherapy Help Everyone? Of Parking Lots, Stress, Life and Psychotherapy The Problem of Treating Addiction What is the difference between Transference Focused Psychotherapy and standard psychotherapy? Psychotherapy for BPD - what works for whom? An Interview with Becky LaFountain, Ph.D. on Adlerian Psychology and Psychotherapy Faith versus Reason, Religion and Psychology An Interview with Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Specialized Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Transference Focused Psychotherapy? Specialized Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Mentalization Based Therapy? Psychotherapy Part Deux How to Start Psychotherapy: A Nervous Time for Most Specialized Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder: What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy? Cognitive Distortions, also known as Finding specialized psychotherapy resources for Borderline Personality Disorder Family Therapy: A Different Approach to Psychotherapy 5 Ways to Achieve Misery Suicide, Self Injury and Hospitalization: Can your therapist have you hospitalized? An Interview with Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy An Interview with Jürgen Kriz on the topic of Self-Actualization and Rogerian Person Centered Psychotherapy An Interview with Raul Moncayo, Ph.D. on Lacanian Psychoanalysis An Interview with Annie Fahy, MSW on Motivational Interviewing An Interview with Patt Denning, Ph.D. on Harm Reduction Psychotherapy for Substance Abuse and Addictions An Interview with Alan Rappoport, Ph.D. on Control-Mastery Theory What Makes Therapy Work? Social Phobia and Self Concept and the Brain An Interview with Otto Kernberg, MD on Transference Focused Therapy Long Term and Other Types of Psychotherapy New Study Supports The Effectiveness of Long-Term Psychodynamic Therapy ADHD Psychological Coaching: Learning to Cope without Medication Are artificial intelligence and robots the future of mental health? An Interview with Fern Cohen, Ph.D. on whether Psychoanalysis is Dead Shy Bladder Syndrome (Paruresis): Getting Help Today's Psychiatrists Less Likely to Provide Psychotherapy Than Ever Before An Interview with Judith Beck, Ph.D. on Cognitive Therapy and Weight Loss An Interview with Stefanie Goldstein, Ph.D. on Mindfulness-Based Treatment of Addiction Abused as a Child: Permanently Damaged? An Interview with Natalie Rogers, Ph.D. on Expressive Arts Therapy On the Issue of Sexual and Other Feelings Towards the Therapist Do You Have a Shy Bladder? An Interview with Shinzen Young on Mindfulness Meditation An Interview with Richard Shulman, Ph.D. about Volunteers In Psychotherapy (VIP) An Interview with Irvin Yalom, MD on Death Anxiety Our Geriatric Population and Their Need for Psychotherapy In Treatment: Understanding how patients 'lie' to themselves and others is at the heart of dynamic psychotherapy Exorcism: When is it appropriate? The Dangers of a Little Knowledge Psychotherapy: A More than Oncer Per Week Commitment Transference, Countertransference and Finding a Good Therapist An Interview with Tony Madrid Ph.D. on the Relationship between Broken Maternal-Infant Bonds and Asthma Transference: The Patient's Love for the Therapist and an Answer to a Graduate Student's Question An Interview with Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) National Stress Øut Week An Interview with Laris MacPherson on the Psychotherapy Client's Experience An Interview with Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. on Dialectical Behavior Therapy Dogs, Depression and Other Health Issues: Is there something to be gained from Illness? An Interview with John Clarkin, Ph.D. on Transference-Focused Therapy For Borderline Personality Disorder New article on Choosing a Psychotherapist "Home Again," What makes for good psychotherapy? An Interview with Myrna Weissman Ph.D. on Interpersonal Psychotherapy Memory, Brain and Psychotherapy Interpersonal Therapy May Prevent Future Depressive Episodes Anti Depressant Medications and Suicide Risk Warnings College and Mental Health Problems, They Go Together Post-Cognitive Psychotherapy An Interview with Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D. on Acceptance and Committment Therapy An Interview with Jeffrey Young, Ph.D. on Schema Therapy Gaining Control So as Not to Gain Weight Dialectical Behavior Therapy: What Is A Dialectic? Binge Eating Disorder Understanding Anorexia Nervosa Recognizing emotion gets harder or easier depending on your mood Stuffing It: The Culture of Not Speaking The Story of A Psychiatric Service Dog Team What Clients Find Helpful in Psychotherapy Humanistic Psychotherapy Boundaries and Dysfunctional Family Systems The Persistent Stigma of Mental Illness That Psychotherapeutic Question: WHY? To Sleep, Perchance to Dream Cognitive Restructuring How Our Thinking Affects Our Feelings Structure vs. Spontaneity in Psychotherapy Learning Theory Brain Scan Predicts Who Will Benefit From Cognitive Therapy Steve Jobs Channels Carl Rogers Steven Hayes (and ACT) for President! A Doggone Good Therapist Interpretation of Repression on the Sopranos premier Repression Transference Videos Links Book Reviews Maximizing Effectiveness in Dynamic Psychotherapy Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy 101 Healing Stories 101 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started Using Hypnosis A Primer for Beginning Psychotherapy A Therapist's Guide to Understanding Common Medical Problems ACT With Love Already Free Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second Edition Bad Therapy Becoming Myself Before Forgiving Being a Brain-Wise Therapist Biofeedback for the Brain Body Psychotherapy Body Sense Boundaries and Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis Brain Change Therapy Breaking Apart Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy Building on Bion Care of the Psyche Choosing an Online Therapist Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders Clinical Intuition in Psychotherapy Clinical Pearls of Wisdom Co-Creating Change Compassion and Healing in Medicine and Society Confessions of a Former Child Confidential Relationships Confidentiality and Mental Health Confiding Contemplative Psychotherapy Essentials Couch Fiction Counseling with Choice Theory Critical Issues in Psychotherapy Crucial Choices, Crucial Changes Decoding the Ethics Code Depression 101 Depression in Context Do-It-Yourself Eye Movement Techniques for Emotional Healing Doing CBT Doing It E-Therapy Encountering the Sacred in Psychotherapy Energy Psychology Interactive Essays on Philosophical Counseling Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling Everyday Mind Reading Exercise-Based Interventions for Mental Illness Existential Psychotherapy Expressing Emotion Facing Human Suffering Fairbairn's Object Relations Theory in the Clinical Setting Family Therapy Favorite Counseling and Therapy Homework Assignments Flourishing Flying Colors God & Therapy Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness Healing the Soul in the Age of the Brain Heinz Kohut How and Why Are Some Therapists Better Than Others? How People Change How to Give Her Absolute Pleasure How to Go to Therapy If Only I Had Known In Session In Therapy We Trust In Treatment: Season 1 Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy Is Long-Term Therapy Unethical? Issues in Philosophical Counseling It’s Your Hour Learning from Our Mistakes Letters to a Young Therapist Logotherapy and Existential Analysis Love's Executioner Man's Search for Meaning Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure Metaphoria: Metaphor and Guided Metaphor for Psychotherapy and Healing Mindfulness Mindfulness and Acceptance Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression Mindworks: An Introduction to NLP Mockingbird Years Momma and the Meaning of Life Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People For Change Multiculturalism and the Therapeutic Process Of Two Minds On the Couch One Nation Under Therapy Our Inner World Outsider Art and Art Therapy Overcoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and Behaviors Philosophical Counseling Philosophical Midwifery Philosophical Practice Philosophy and Psychotherapy Philosophy for Counselling and Psychotherapy Philosophy Practice Philosophy's Role in Counseling and Psychotherapy Plato, Not Prozac! Process-Based CBT Psychologists Defying the Crowd Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and the Politics of Human Relationships Psychosis in the Family Psychotherapy Psychotherapy Psychotherapy As Praxis Psychotherapy East and West Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Rationality and the Pursuit of Happiness Recovery Options Rent Two Films and Let's Talk in the Morning Saving the Modern Soul Second-order Change in Psychotherapy Self Matters Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy Self-Determination Theory in the Clinic Sexual Orientation and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Strangers to Ourselves Taking America Off Drugs Tales of Psychotherapy The Art of Hypnosis The Case Formulation Approach to Cognitive-Behavior Therapy The Compassionate Connection The Crucible of Experience The Education of Mrs. Bemis The Fall Of An Icon The Gift of Therapy The Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence for What Makes Psychotherapy Work The Husbands and Wives Club The Love Cure The Making of a Therapist The Mummy at the Dining Room Table The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain The New Psychoanalysis The Philosopher's Autobiography The Portable Coach The Portable Ethicist for Mental Health Professionals The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life The Problem with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy The Psychodynamics of Gender and Gender Role The Psychotherapy Documentation Primer The Real World Guide to Psychotherapy Practice The Schopenhauer Cure The Talking Cure The Therapeutic "Aha!" The Therapist's Guide to Psychopharmacology, Revised Edition The Therapist's Ultimate Solution Book The Unsayable The Wing of Madness Theory and Practice of Brief Therapy Therapy TheraScribe 4.0 Thinking about Thinking Thrive Toward a Psychology of Awakening Tracking Mental Health Outcomes Treating Attachment Disorders What the Buddha Felt What Works for Whom? Second Edition Why Psychoanalysis? Yoga Therapy
by Jane Ryan (Editor)
Karnac, 2007
Review by Tony O'Brien, RN, MPhil on Sep 16th 2008
Tales of Psychotherapy is a charming book. It's a collection of forty writings, some fictional, some not, on psychotherapy. The concept is unusual. Editor Jane Ryan explains that contributors were asked for short stories that were either fictional or true. To be pedantic, a short story is a piece of fiction. An historical account, or analysis of a professional issue, or an autobiographical piece, is non-fiction, hence my preference for the term "writings". But that is pedantic. There are 28 individual contributions in this book, and it's a real collection of allsorts. You never know what you're in for when you move from one chapter to the next. Perhaps that's what it's like being a psychotherapist. You never know what memory, what trauma, what banal rumination you're going to be paid to listen to. Not that anything in this book is banal. Far from it. There's something in every contribution, and to make it better you get to read a short biography of the author.
The book is thematically organized into sections on different aspects of psychotherapy. There is no particular pattern to this; it includes "boundaries" "coincidence", "healing", "the psychotherapy relationship" "childhood" and "love". It's not always clear if these writings are fictional or not. A psychotherapist might say it's about what it means for you. Fair enough. Reading through the book you get a sense of what it is to be a psychotherapist. I don't know if it's accurate or not, but I developed an image of a modestly and sparsely (but tastefully) furnished room, a few paintings, most likely impressionist, a window with a view, and a few personal objects, telltale evidence that the idealized therapist is a Real Person. I was surprised how many psychotherapists practice at home.
The writings range from moving accounts of damaged lives to playful anecdotes about the vicissitudes of therapy. Mustard Therapy is Alexandra Wilson's delightful tongue-in-cheek poke at psychotherapy. It comes as a relief following David Herbert's rather creepy Stones . There are a few stories involving abuse of children and with these the book takes on a somber tone. Barbara Hillman's Jigsaw is a moving recollection of childhood exploitation told in a straightforward and unsentimental way. Jigsaw will make you grateful you're not a psychotherapist, and grateful that other people are.
Ghosting through these writings is the specter of Sigmund Freud. Occasionally he appears on stage. I loved Maggie Murray's The case of Anna F . even if I couldn't decide whether she was right in all her interpretations. The idea of Anna Freud visiting Broadmoor has some appeal. I still don't know what to make of Ella Lindauer's Fragments , but there must be people whose families lived in Vienna at the same time as the Freuds. The first contribution is an interesting, but inconclusive anecdote about how Freud turned down various offers to advise on court trials and films in the United States. Interesting, but I liked Freud more with a bit of artistic license.
This is a book that would appeal to anyone with at least a passing interest in the psychotherapies. I'm sure practitioners could find much to debate about the approaches taken, interpretations made, the meaning of different revelations and emotions. Some of the contributions have genuine literary merit; others are a little labored, but the case studies are especially interesting. Tales of Psychotherapy would make a nice distraction for your daily commute or an enjoyable fireside read. I'd even take it to the beach. If you see it on the coffee table on your next visit to your therapist, pick it up. You might read something you need to talk about.
© 2008 Tony O'Brien
Tony O'Brien, RN, MPhil, Senior Lecturer, Mental Health Nursing, University of Auckland, New Zealand. a.obrien@auckland.ac.nz
