Review of Therapeutic experiencing: The process of change.

Reviews the book, Therapeutic experiencing: The process of change by Alvin R. Mahrer (1986). In one sense, Mahrer makes the reviewer's task easy by summarizing in his introduction such key points as the purpose of his book, its scope, and its intended readership. Mahrer has two stated purposes: one is "to show how to do experiential therapy" and the other is "to build upon the various members of the experiential family and to propose a single theory of experiential psychotherapy complete with its own methods of bringing about therapeutic change." There are three conditions, however, which must be met in order to enable the reader to do experiential therapy. The first is that the reader is familiar with and sympathetic to existential-humanistic thinking. It is to all such therapists, as well as to their patients, that this book is addressed. The other two conditions that must be fulfilled in order to undertake experiential therapy are that the reader understands how to start each experiential therapy session and knows how to listen experientially. These latter two conditions are the subject of an earlier book by Mahrer, Experiential Psychotherapy: Basic Practices, which is thus basic reading for anyone intending to apply the method described in the current volume, as these two conditions together comprise the essential first of five steps that constitute each experiential psychotherapy session. The current volume picks up the method only at step two, "carrying forward of potentials for experiencing," and covers the remaining steps as well: "experiencing the relationship with deeper potentials, experiential being of the deeper potentials, and being/ behavioral change." In Therapeutic Experiencing , Mahrer stipulates that the patient should have a minimum of three hundred sessions, distributed over a 3-year period, and return for therapeutic work every two years or so for about 10 to 15 sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The first session in brief therapy.

Reviews the book, The first session in brief therapy edited by Simon H. Budman, Michael F. Hoyt, and Steven Friedman (see record 1992-98543-000). This book provides an overview of the models of brief psychotherapeutic intervention. A major focus is how brief therapists structure and manage their initial contact with the patient. The editors intend this volume to be a casebook in which the reader can learn what therapists actually do in their clinical practice and offers the reader opportunities to further develop and sharpen his/her thinking regarding brief therapy. According to the reviewer, this book provides a fine survey of the current diversity of approaches to brief therapy. Taken as a whole, the book stimulates considerable thought on the most efficacious use of time in psychotherapy and will appeal to a wide audience including graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Self-Relations in the Psychotherapy Process.

Reviews the book, Self-Relations in the Psychotherapy Process by J. Christopher Muran (see record 2000-16556-000). The self is alive and well and living in psychology, at least if the contributors to J. Christopher Muran's stimulating volume, Self-Relations in the Psychotherapy Process, are to be taken seriously. The self is a central construct in psychoanalytic, humanistic, and cognitive-behavioral theories, but nowadays even some radical behaviorists find the self to be an important concept. Thus, the present is a propitious time for a book that presents the major theoretical approaches to the self in psychotherapy and, fortunately for us, Muran, by gathering the views of leading psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and radical behavioral thinkers, has assembled a volume of almost uniformly high quality. Inspired by postmodernism, especially by the growing popularity of dialogic and perspectival epistemologies, Muran has a constructed this book as a set of six dialogues among contributors of varying theoretical persuasions, and although I doubt that dialogic and perspectival epistemologies are necessarily postmodern, I nevertheless find that this volume's dialogic structure makes for interesting reading and adds to its intellectual contributions. Because Muran's contention, with which I agree, is that the self is not an isolated entity but rather part of a relational matrix, it is perhaps necessary for this book to be structured dialogically. Whether postmodern or not, this book is an important one, one that conveys a great deal about what it means to be human as we enter the 21st century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy by Robert F. Hobson. Robert Hobson calls this book his autobiography as a therapist. As such it provides interesting glimpses into some of his more meaningful sessions with clients, illuminating his approach to therapy and enabling the reader to see a master therapist at work. Hobson also presents a new method of therapy, which he calls the conversational model. On this level, his book is considerably less satisfying. Hobson succinctly outlines the general principles of the conversational model and basic skills required of the therapist, but in so doing offers essentially little new information, however valid the points may be. According to Hobson, the conversational model is designed for clients whose problems arise from disturbances in their significant relationships, and those problems are best solved not by talking about them but by being in a relationship such as therapy that provides "a special kind of friendship." Hobson puts great stress on the use of metaphorical language in therapy and learning how to use the language of art as well as of science. He relies heavily on literary quotations, prefacing each section with one or two, and liberally interspersing many more within the pages of text. The net result is not so much illuminating as it is wearisome, and the general tone is slightly pretentious and, when Hobson addresses his "dear Reader" directly, somewhat condescending. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A new psychotherapy for traditional men.

Reviews the book, A new psychotherapy for traditional men by Gary R. Brooks (see record 1998-06013-000). Gary Brooks spent 6 years writing this book in which he presents a therapeutic model for working with "traditional men." The text's quality—reflected in its organization, structure, and content—demonstrates the success of this very thorough labor. The therapy discussed is a gender-aware model, oriented and very empathetic to the needs and special perspective of contemporary males. Brooks makes the reader aware of the dilemma facing traditional man. Brooks's compassionate and sensitive presentation makes the pain and distress of the traditional man very real and palpable for the reader. The men for whom the model is targeted are those individuals who are closely attached to the traditional definition of manhood; they are emotionally stoic, prefer action to reflection, are shame-bound by any sense of incompetence or hint of failure, and do not ask for help. Brooks is very complete, comprehensive, and convinced about his gender-sensitive therapy for traditional men. His comprehensive intervention is intriguing. The compassionate and compelling manner in which he presents his total model is provocative. It challenges readers to consider or at least reexamine many of their concepts and attitudes regarding men, the process of therapy, and their behaviors as therapists. Brooks's many clinical insights should prove useful to therapists of all experiential levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of today's woman: New psychoanalytic visions.

Reviews the book, The psychology of today's woman: New psychoanalytic visions, edited by Toni Bernay and Dorothy W. Cantor (see record 1989-98207-000). The contributors introduce this work with their concern about the applicability of analytic theory to the changing realities of today's women, questioning the idea that women's behavior is either "sick" or "well." The book, divided into four sections, reexamines and reframes conventional conceptions under four headings: Traditional Visions of Femininity Reassessed; New Visions of Femininity; Today's Women; and Therapeutic Relationships. There are some important populations of women omitted or treated only in passing in this collection of essays, for example, cross-cultural therapy, treatment of abuse and incest victims, alcoholism, eating and sexual disorders, a feminist approach to the treatment of depression, and lesbianism. Nevertheless, there are many innovative approaches to a variety of problems and this book, oriented for practitioners as well as students and researchers, provides fresh models for psychoanalytically oriented therapy for women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Epilepsy: A handbook for the mental health professional.

Reviews the book, Epilepsy: A handbook for the mental health professional edited by Harry Sands (1982). The editor has gathered 10 contributors, each with a wealth of experience in the area of psychological issues in epilepsy. The book is designed to provide necessary information about epilepsy to "the core mental health discipline: psychology, psychiatry, social work, and psychiatric nursing, and to other collaborating disciplines such as rehabilitation and counseling." It certainly achieves this goal and has the potential of becoming a major reference source as well as textbook in the field. The book could be used as a handbook and reference book for specific problems with epileptics. However, its real strength is its potential use as a unified and comprehensive textbook on a broad range of rehabilitation psychology issues with the epileptic. As a text, it would be appropriate for a senior undergraduate-level or graduate-level course within the broad area of medical psychology. Many of the psychological principles and intervention strategies are applicable to other disabilities. Thus, if educators wish, they can use these chapters as a core model to be augmented by other references to other disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The homosexualities and the therapeutic process.

Reviews the book, The homosexualities and the therapeutic process by Charles W. Socarides and Vamik Volkan (see record 1992-97015-000). Socarides, one of the editors of this book, remains the most persistent and productive purveyor of the "homosexuality as pathology" school of psychoanalysis, having published voluminously on the subject for the last four decades. He is joined by Vamik Volkan, who has published more about topics other than homosexuality, including numerous papers on transsexualism, as co-editor for this volume of 14 chapters, 12 about men, 1 about a lesbian, and 1 about a female-to-male transsexual. This book, described as a companion to The homosexualities: Reality, fantasy, and the arts (Socarides & Volkan, 1991), is intended to explore "techniques for the psychoanalytic treatment of homosexuals" (p. 1). Most of the authors explicitly acknowledge their adherence to a theoretical position locating the origins of homosexuality in preoedipal conflicts, a theory that Socarides has repeatedly articulated. The editors state that many of their contributors provide clinical evidence to support this view, but in fact most of them start from this assumption, and weave clinical data together in such a way that it can only lead back to the first principle. The angry tone of some of the authors in this book reminded Stein that the risk of abuse by therapists of patients solely because of their sexual orientation is not something of the past. The most fundamental problem with this book lies, of course, in the explicit adherence by most of the authors to the belief that homosexuality in whatever form it appears in their patients and regardless of its specific mode of expression, arises invariably from conflict and pathology. According to the reviewer, The homosexualities and the therapeutic process is of historical interest as a vestige of psychiatric and psychoanalytic doctrines that were used to create and to perpetuate those psychological myths and stereotypes about homosexuality and the lives of gay men and lesbians that reinforced the homophobic attitudes of the larger society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Jerome Bruner: Language, culture, self.

Reviews the book, Jerome Bruner: Language, culture, self edited by David Bakhurst and Stuart G. Shanker (2001). Ten papers bounded by an editors' "Introduction" and Jerome Bruner's commentary, "In Response," constitute a volume that is probably as complete a presentation of the seminal issues in "cultural psychology" available anywhere. It is a joy to read and a tribute to Bruner's breadth of influence in all major areas of the discipline. What is remarkable about this volume is that the reader actually lives through Bruner's influence during the past five decades and comes to an appreciation of just how much of the theoretical course of the discipline is reflected in and can be understood through Bruner's writings. However, the papers collected here are not, as the editors note, a celebration of Bruner's legacy, but rather "a lens through which to see contemporary debates in psychology and cognate disciplines, debates about mind and culture, language and communication, identity and development." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Ericksonian monographs number 2: Central themes and principles of Ericksonian therapy.

Reviews the book, Ericksonian monographs number 2. Central themes and principles of Ericksonian therapy, edited by Stephen R. Lankton. This is a collection of nine articles and three book reviews that make up a second volume in what is intended to be an ongoing series. The selections will be of particular interest to those readers who have some familiarity with Ericksonian theory and technique, are convinced of the value of this approach, and would like to know still more about it and its founder. Six of the nine articles are primarily about technique, but there is not a clear organizational theme to the book. There is an uneven quality to the book, due both to the way it is organized and the fact that the articles are written by different people. The chapters attempting first to link Erickson with Carl Rogers and then with self theory and Kohut are strained and unconvincing. Also, while Erickson is certainly a fascinating person, the repetitive adulation of him creates an uncritical cultish context that could alienate readers attempting an objective appraisal. The tone of the monograph is such that Ericksonian methods may seem applicable to anything and everything, and always seem to work. The theory is certainly evolving and has some strong and convincing adherents, but a more balanced approach including dealing with difficult and unsuccessful patients would help its further development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women in families: A framework for family therapy.

Reviews the book, Women in families: A framework for family therapy edited by Monica McGoldrick, Carol M. Anderson, and Froma Walsh (1989). The editors state that this book grew out of the need of women doing family therapy to network and to develop visible women mentors and role models not overshadowed by the men in their lives. This book does try to cover too much ground in a single edited volume; the first two sections, by themselves, focused new themes in the theory and practice of family therapy. However, this is a new contribution to the field, a book that tells us how to bring gender into teaching and practice, and which ideas should be included. This book is recommended for practicing family therapists and students in family therapy training programs. It should be required reading for any professional planning to do family therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapist's anxiety level, self-insight, and psychotherapeutic competence.

"The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that competent psychotherapists are less anxious and possess a greater degree of insight into the nature of their anxieties than do psychotherapists who are judged to be less competent." The results showed that anxious therapists were rated to be less competent than therapists low in anxiety. There were no significant relationships between the therapist's self ratings of anxiety or the degree of insight and ratings of psychotherapeutic competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of play therapy, volume 2: Advances and innovations.

Reviews the book, Handbook of play therapy, volume 2: Advances and innovations by Kevin J. O'Connor and Charles E. Schaefer (1994). This book offers a collection of chapters written by leading experts which addresses the developments in play therapy since 1983. In completing the volume, Editors Kevin J. O'Connor and Charles E. Schaefer sought to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to play therapy. Additionally, the editors stated in their preface that they worked to make this new volume "informative, thought provoking, and clinically useful." Indeed, the editors have succeeded admirably in achieving their stated objectives. The book's organization and emphasis on clinical relevance make it a fit companion to their earlier classic (Schaefer & O'Connor, 1983). The Handbook is very well-organized with an excellent selection of chapter topics. The chapters follow essentially the same format and are integrated well within the book. The editors deserve credit for synthesizing diverse theoretical approaches and techniques into a coherent whole. The individual chapters are clearly written and quite readable. The figures and tables are readily understandable and augment the chapters' content. Clinicians and researchers interested in play therapy and child psychotherapy will enjoy this volume. Although the majority of chapters discuss play therapy with children, two chapters discuss play therapy applications with adults. Accordingly, therapists interested in these approaches will profit from this work. The volume certainly appeals to multi-disciplinary audiences such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, pastoral counselors, and educators. The text is extremely appropriate for a graduate course in play therapy. Finally, the book can be read from beginning to end or the reader can select particular chapters in the handbook and sample various clinical approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychotherapist's own psychotherapy: Patient and clinician perspectives.

Reviews the book, The psychotherapist's own psychotherapy: Patient and clinician perspectives by Jesse D. Geller, John C. Norcross, and David E. Orlinsky (2005). The editors of this book have two aims: 1) "to synthesize and explicate the accumulated knowledge on psychotherapy with psychotherapists," and 2) "to provide clinically tested and empirically grounded assistance to psychotherapists treating fellow therapists, as well as to those clinicians who seek personal treatment themselves." The editors seem to be walking a fine line between asserting their own integrative conclusions and setting the conditions for readers to arrive at conclusions on their own. The tendency is toward the latter. With this propensity in mind, readers might approach the book as a truly encyclopedic collection- best approached in piecemeal (nonintegrative) fashion, focusing on fascinating morsels that can stand alone. In contrast, for those readers who are drawn toward integration, the book may elicit contrasting experiences of deep familiarity and understanding, and disorienting befuddlement about what was just read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Hypnosis--questions and answers.

Reviews the book, Hypnosis--questions and answers edited by Bernie Zilbergeld, M. Gerald Edelstien, and Daniel L. Araoz (1987). The editors of this "friendly reference" have carefully collected and thought out a compendium of questions about hypnosis "that you always wanted to know about but didn't know whom to ask." The answers are presented in an easily readable format. In 489 pages the reader is given cogent replies by outstanding experts. This is a fine book insofar as outstanding experts give sound and succinct answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on hypnosis. Psychotherapists and other health professionals who use hypnosis will find this book very useful as a reference source for authoritative and scientific answers to the 84 questions that are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of client-centered group play therapy on self concept.

V. M. Axline's (1969) basic principles for client-centered play therapists direct the therapist to create an environment in which clients are granted the basic freedoms that V. Satir (1976) has delineated as necessary for self concept enhancement. This relationship between client-centered play therapy and self concept enhancement is evident when comparing their histories. This study investigated the effects of client-centered play therapy on self concept in a 10 session client-centered play therapy group involving 3 male and 3 female 6-9 yr olds with a variety of clinical problems. Two individual case studies from the group are presented which indicate that client-centered group play therapy enhances self concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Rehearsals for growth: Theater improvisation for psychotherapists.

Reviews the book, Rehearsals for growth: Theater improvisation for psychotherapists by Daniel J. Wiener (see record 1994-98676-000). This book is clearly written for psychotherapists who might be interested in improv and improv's applications to the psychotherapeutic stage, and not for actors and actresses studying psychotherapy. The style of the book is unique. It is a weave of personal narrative, literature review, interviews with improv teachers, practical ideas, and case material. It is also written so that after a brief introduction one may play with the book as one likes—it can be read cover to cover; one can go directly to practical ideas; another can study the content chapters in any order; and so on. I read the book cover to cover, and the shifts is presentation style felt disruptive, but this might be the very improv principles at work in the author's writing style. Probably the most useful part of the book is the bounty of ideas, games, and exercises. These techniques are described in text and tabulated in an appendix for easy reference and comparison. The games and exercises are playful, thought-provoking, maybe even iconoclastic, and potentially therapeutic with a skilled therapist. The book is worthwhile for almost any psychotherapist from any therapeutic modality. The challenge, though, for those that accept it, doing what it takes to develop genuine and reliable spontaneity. Rehearsals for Growth is one method to achieve that aim. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Countertransference in the treatment of PTSD.

Reviews the book, Countertransference in the treatment of PTSD, edited by John P. Wilson and Jacob D. Lindy (see record 1994-98036-000). This book purports to be the first to examine systematically the unique role of countertransference in working with victims of trauma. To help systematize clinical work with trauma victims, the contributors produced a theoretical model that attempts "to identify the core elements and dimensions of countertransference and their relationship to PSTD." The unique status of this book claimed by the editors is predicated on an assumption unexamined by the editors; namely, that the contributors have uncovered a new clinical phenomenon—countertransference to PSTD. This assumption rests on a second important and unquestioned assumption that the victims of PSTD suffer differently and more horribly than do other sufferers of the human condition. Haven't clinicians learned by now that suffering is suffering regardless of the external event that may have precipitated the hurt? If suffering is suffering, regardless of its provocation, then countertransference is countertransference regardless of the external events to which the clinician is responding. While this volume, by carefully delineating and systematizing a host of therapist responses to patient inductions, contributes to a better understanding of countertransference, it hasn't discovered a new clinical phenomenon. The value of this book resides in the thoughtful ways the contributors discuss monitoring one's countertransference and their compassionate and efficacious responses to the suffering of their patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Counseling and Therapy Skills.

Reviews the book, Counseling and Therapy Skills by David G. Martin (1983). The stated goal of this book is "to communicate more than an academic understanding of the principles of therapy: to give the reader skills that can actually be applied in the counseling setting" (p. vii). The first six chapters focus on the concept of empathy, listening skills, facilitative responding, confrontation, giving control to the client, and relationship issues. The second part book consists primarily of illustrations of therapy by five therapists (including the author). This material is followed by four chapters on the special topics of behavioural interventions, assessment, ethical issues, and how to conduct initial and final interviews. The author concludes with a theoretical section of four chapters in which he briefly discusses contributions by some of the "schools" of therapy, and then addresses the relationship between anxiety and distress, some theoretical principles underlying therapy, and the research evidence on the effectiveness of empathic responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)