Review of Evidence-based Psychotherapy: Where Theory and Practice Meet.

Reviews the book, Evidence-based Psychotherapy: Where Theory and Practice Meet edited by Carol D. Goodheart, Alan E. Kazdin, and Robert J. Sternberg (see record 2006-02969-000). The distinguished editors and authors of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy: Where Theory and Practice Meet have created an intellectual atmosphere in the book that paves the way for generative development of evidence-based practice (EBP) in psychotherapy in the future. The book is organized into three sections: 1) "The Practice Perspective," 2) "The Research Perspective," and 3) "Training, Policy, and Cautions." This book is an important addition to the debate on EBP in psychotherapy and highlights issues that extend well beyond the role of psychotherapy in EBP. It is highly recommended for practitioners and researchers alike and is likely to invite thoughtful questioning and reflection on core assumptions at both ends of the spectrum. Moreover, the book would serve as a useful primer on the issues germane to EBP in psychotherapy training for graduate students and psychiatric residents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychotherapy and Personality Change.

Reviews the book "Psychotherapy and personality change," edited by Rosalind F. Dymond (see record 1955-04163-000). This is a truly impressive book, if one holds any brief for the value of objective research where psychotherapy is concerned. It is still much too early to hope that discussions of psychotherapy can be aimed at concrete problems involving specific principles. This progress report from the Counseling Center of the University of Chicago should convince anyone that objective research on psychotherapy is possible and may, eventually, pay off with concrete results. It should also convince the fainthearted that research on psychotherapy with real patients who have real problems might best be left to those who have great courage, considerable dedication, and the foresight to equip themselves in advance with a large grant from a foundation. This book is another testimonial to the fact that psychotherapy is rapidly becoming a legitimate field of scientific research as well as an applied art. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Contexts of being: The intersubjective foundations of psychological life.

Reviews the book, Contexts of being: The intersubjective foundations of psychological life by Robert D. Stolorow and George E. Atwood (see record 1992-98615-000). In this book, the authors present a well-organized and systematic presentation of their intersubjective approach to psychotherapy. This book represents the culmination of at least the past thirteen years of Stolorow and Atwood's research program. They make good use of the limited space by addressing some of the most pivotal concepts in the field of psychotherapy. This work is likely to become a recognized contribution within the history of psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Boundaries in psychotherapy: Ethical and clinical explorations.

Reviews the book, Boundaries in psychotherapy: Ethical and clinical explorations by Ofer Zur (see record 2007-00030-000). In this book, Dr. Zur outlines a number of the salient boundary issues in psychotherapy. As such, this book provides a valuable resource for practising mental health professionals regardless of theoretical orientation. Specifically, this book aims to shed light on the definition and use of psychotherapeutic boundaries by providing a context-based and comprehensive discussion of diverse boundary issues. The book is divided into four parts, and each of the first three parts is made up of four chapters. Part 1, "Boundaries in Context," addresses an assortment of topics concerning boundaries in psychotherapy. Part 2 focuses on issues that affect the therapeutic frame. Part 3 addresses boundary issues that exist within the therapeutic encounter. In Part 4, appropriately titled "Final Thoughts," the author provides a cogent epilogue that highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of professional boundaries and stresses the importance of conducting risk- benefit analyses and other diligent risk management studies when contemplating crossing boundaries in psychotherapy. With regard to the author's stated objectives for writing this book, he accomplishes his goal of shedding light on the definition and use of psychotherapeutic boundaries. Overall, the author's simple and clear writing style makes this an extremely easy book to read. Other strengths include the succinct definition of terms and inclusion of practical tips and suggestions to help the reader navigate the complexities that entrench boundary issues in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Play in child development and psychotherapy: Toward empirically supported practice.

Reviews the book, Play in child development and psychotherapy: Toward empirically supported practice by Sandra Russ (see record 2003-88219-000). Clinical child psychologists have used play as a vehicle for psychotherapy for over 75 years. However, current demands of managed care systems emphasize the need for time limited and empirically supported treatments. Although play techniques are commonly incorporated by psychologists of various theoretical orientations, Sandra Russ points out in this book the disparity between the theoretical role of play in psychotherapy and the actual evidence supporting these techniques. The first four chapters of the book provide literature reviews of the history, theory, and research on pretend play, considering both normative and clinical populations. The next three chapters focus more specifically on the current developments in understanding play from research and practice perspectives. Finally, Russ considers future objectives for researchers and practitioners who seek to expand and enhance the utility of play techniques in child psychotherapy. Russ's book clearly provides a basis for understanding the current state of the child play therapy field while strongly emphasizing the need for additional research. This book may be useful for practitioners who strive to provide empirically supported treatments because it provides theoretical and available research perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of What works for whom? A critical review of psychotherapy research.

Reviews the book, What works for whom? A critical review of psychotherapy research by Anthony Roth and Peter Fonagy (see record 1996-98691-000). This book presents a comprehensive review of the status of psychotherapy research. The authors look at the evidence dealing with both efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy for the more common DSM-IV disorders. All of the chapters are geared toward the goal of providing the practitioner with a list of treatments for which there is empirical support. The reviewer notes that the amount of information covered in this text is extensive and provides sufficient evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy for many of the diagnostic categories. Despite an overemphasis on cognitive/behavioral treatments, the authors do present the best of the research in psychodynamic therapy. The reviewer recommends this volume to both to researchers and practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents.

Reviews the book, Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents edited by Jerrold R. Brandell (see record 1992-97833-000). Books on child analytic work are rare, and books on countertransference in child treatment are basically nonexistent, despite the proliferation of writing on countertransference in work with adults. Thus, Jerrold Brandell's edited volume is a welcome and long-overdue addition to the literature. Although the book is not strictly about analysis, it is analytically informed. Brandell's stated goal is to advance the principle that "countertransference is a ubiquitous factor in child and adolescent treatment, and that its recognition, understanding, and management are essential to effective psychotherapy." This is indeed a worthy if not essential undertaking, and the collection of articles in Brandell's book advances this goal. Brandell prefaced the chapters with his own thorough historical literature review of countertransference in both adult and child work. He then subdivided the book into two sections, with the first containing two classic articles an countertransference and the bulk of the book devoted to the following "scientific situations" in child psychotherapy: racial and cultural issues, depressed and suicidal children and adolescents, infant-family treatment, severely disturbed adolescents, eating disorders, abused children and adolescents, parent loss and divorce, borderline children and adolescents, life-threatening illness, and substance-abusing adolescents. This book is a very good resource for child analysts and therapists, especially those who espouse a more relational or intersubjective point of view. It is suitable both for inexperienced analysts and as a reminder to more seasoned ones of the importance and pervasiveness of countertransference issues in our work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Critical issues in psychotherapy: Translating new ideas into practice.

Reviews the book, Critical issues in psychotherapy: Translating new ideas into practice edited by Brent D. Slife, Richard N. Williams, and Sally H. Barlow (see record 2001-05779-000). Bridging the often enormous gap between theory and practice in psychotherapy, this volume seeks to examine a variety of models of psychotherapy in the light of recent advances in theoretical psychology, philosophy of science, and critical thinking. The book is organized around numerous issues of fundamental importance to contemporary psychotherapy, including chapters addressing the problems of empirically validated therapies, individualism, spirituality, multiculturalism, biological reductionism, managed care, freewill/determinism, eclecticism, feminism, and diagnostics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revue de L’évaluation des psychothérapies et de la psychanalyse: fondements et enjeux.

Reviews the book, L’évaluation des psychothérapies et de la psychanalyse: fondements et enjeux (The evaluation of psychotherapies and psychoanalysis: Foundations and issues) by Georges Fischman (2009). This collective book was written following an epistemology seminar directed by Dr. Fischman. This seminar, held at the Sainte-Anne hospital in Paris, gathered a group of experts in order to discuss the issue of psychotherapy assessment, with a particular focus on psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Self-disclosure in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Self-disclosure in psychotherapy by Barry A. Farber (see record 2006-11792-000). At one point or another, most therapists have wondered how much their patients are telling them and wrestled with how much they should reveal themselves to their patients. This book aims to provide an integrative and up-to-date review of the literature that has addressed these kinds of questions. By looking at patient, therapist, supervisee, and supervisor self-disclosure, Farber attempts to show both common and unique aspects of self-disclosure across the different parties involved in psychotherapy. Work from historical, clinical, research, and cultural perspectives comes together to provide readers with a multifaceted view of self-disclosure in psychotherapy. This book will be of interest to therapists, researchers, psychotherapy supervisors, and therapists-in-training. Farber's discussion of self-disclosure offers a nuanced perspective on the dilemmas involved in the psychotherapy process. By highlighting the features of self-disclosure across patients, therapists, supervisees, and supervisors, Farber enriches understanding of the phenomenon and encourages empathy for the perspectives of those in other psychotherapy roles. We believe that Farber has successfully synthesized work from various perspectives to create an illuminating review of self-disclosure in psychotherapy. The book condenses a broad range of literature into clearly organized and digestible chapters. The integration of research and theory with clinical vignettes, quotations from books and movies, and popular song lyrics make this work an unusually engaging and accessible read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy: Bridging the gap between science and practice.

Reviews the book, Handbook of evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy: Bridging the gap between science and practice by Raymond A. Levy and J. Stuart Ablon (see record 2008-14828-000). This book presents a lucid and timely review of research advances assessing the efficacy and effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies in treating many psychological disorders. From research on broad-based meta-analyses of the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy to close process analysis of therapist and patient interactions, the invited contributors of this volume translate complex research findings into clinically relevant information for clinicians working in the field. The volume is organized to lead the reader from broad-based reviews of psychodynamic psychotherapy outcome studies to examining in-session processes of patient– therapist interactions that affect the patient’s well-being, improvement, and personality change. In all, it lives up to its title and should be added to any clinician’s library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy by Arthur C. Bohart and Leslie S. Greenberg (see record 1997-08439-000). What, exactly, do we mean by empathy? And what role does it play in how psychotherapy works? These are the questions that Arthur Bohart and Leslie Greenberg address in their edited book, Empathy reconsidered. While definitive answers are not arrived at, the considerations have resulted in a book that ought to be required reading for anyone who wants to understand or practice psychotherapy. This is a book that should be read by graduate students in clinical or counselling psychology, psychotherapy researchers, and psychotherapists. It is not an easy read; it is definitely not a "how-to" manual. Rather, it is challenging and thought-provoking. The dedicated reader, however, will be rewarded. Ultimately, the greatest reward that this book offers is the view that maybe psychotherapy is the distillation of an essential human process which is facilitative of human growth; that maybe all forms of psychotherapy are effective as a result of empathic processes; that maybe what we should be directing our energies toward is ensuring that we are empathically engaging our clients, not whether we are implementing irrelevant varieties of therapeutic techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychotherapy with psychotherapists.

Reviews the book, Psychotherapy with psychotherapists edited by Florence W. Kaslow (see record 1990-98484-000). There has been little written about doing psychotherapy with patients who are themselves psychotherapists, despite the fact that many therapists have been in therapy and some have provided treatment for other therapists. This book presents a good overview of many of the issues involved when therapist treats therapist, although there are no real surprises or conceptual breakthroughs. Regardless of theoretical orientation or preferred treatment modality, several common problem areas emerge having to do with boundaries, confidentiality, pride, competition, and countertransference. There is still a clear need for research, including investigation of the supposed efficacy of treatment as training. More discussion and detailed case examples of treatment from the perspective of the therapist-patients would have been desirable. These relatively minor qualifications notwithstanding, therapists will find much here to stimulate and inform their work with therapist-patients. There are fewer "therapists' therapists" than there are therapist-patients, however, and this suggests an even larger readership: trainees and practicing clinicians in treatment. This book may not only help therapists to be therapists to their patients, but should also help therapists to be patients to their therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of experiential psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of experiential psychotherapy edited by Leslie S. Greenberg, Jeanne C. Watson, and Germain Lietaer (1998). The editors note in their introductory comment that the "influence of the humanistic approaches to psychotherapy has waned since their prominence in the sixties and seventies" (p. ix). What this book makes eminently clear, however, is that experientially oriented therapies have not disappeared in the shadow of more recent developments in theory and practice. This book is well written, well organized, and rich in content. Furthermore, it fills an important gap in the literature. In a climate dominated by the search for "scientifically validated treatments," for-profit mental service providers, and praxis dominated by issues of efficacy, concern for the fundamental underlying process responsible for positive human change tends to be relegated to the background. This volume not only highlights the contributions experiential/third-force psychotherapy has made and continues to make to our appreciation of these fundamental processes, but also manages to combine and balance interesting theoretical discussion with clinically useful practical material. While this volume is no "cookbook of experiential therapy," the authors respect the practical demands facing practitioners and provide useful examples of applying some of the basic tenets of the "third force" to a range of specific issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Words were originally magic.

Reviews the book, Words were originally magic by Steve de Shazer (see record 1994-97917-000). This book is written from both a philosophical and clinical perspective. It deals with the importance of language in psychotherapy. The author sets the foundation relative to language structure, meaning, and therapeutic change modalities in preparation for the discussion of brief problem focused psychotherapy. Case examples from actual therapy sessions are then presented in illustration of therapy process and outcome. The reviewer believes that this book has significant relevancy for current practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy by Williams Hudson O'Hanlon and Michelle Weiner-Davis (see record 1989-98511-000). This book is a presentation of solution-oriented therapy, which derives from the work of Milton Erickson. The book also draws upon research from the Mental Research Institute's work in brief therapy, and from the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, where the second author was part of the research team. The book, however, is not a presentation of research; there are no discussions of statistics or research design. What the book does discuss is implementing solution-oriented therapy, an approach which focuses on the strengths of clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychotherapy with older adults.

Reviews the book, Psychotherapy with older adults by Bob Knight (see record 1987-97045-000). The techniques of providing psychotherapy to older adults are the main topics of this trenchant text. There are several case examples throughout the book that illustrate the process of psychotherapy with the elderly. Knight has provided a much-needed, readable introduction and how-to instructions on psychotherapeutic service provision to this burgeoning segment of the population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The technique of psychotherapy.

Review the book "The technique of psychotherapy," by Lewis R. Wolberg (see record 1954-08774-000). This is not the case with The Technique of Psychotherapy. It provides one of the most remarkably comprehensive discussions of specifically what to do in psychotherapy that is currently available. The range and specificity of the topics covered is truly astounding. The topics covered deal with almost every conceivable question that the beginning therapist might ask an expert. This book is remarkable not only in the comprehensiveness of its coverage of specific aspects of therapy but also in the flexibility and freedom of dogmatism of the writer. Wolberg's position appears to be best described as eclectic-psychoanalytic. Wolberg has something good to find in all varieties of psychotherapy. Insight therapy, catharsis, re-education, environmental manipulation, support, reassurance, hypnosis, dream interpretation, free association, and persuasion all have their place for different kinds of therapy and for different kinds of cases. It will be useful in teaching psychotherapy and as a reference for those who practice psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Negotiating consent in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Negotiating consent in psychotherapy by Patrick O'Neill (see record 1999-08089-000). This book examines the importance of negotiating consent in psychotherapy, the extent to which it occurs between client and therapist during therapy, and its impact on the therapeutic process. The author achieves this through the use of qualitative research methods, conducting in-depth interviews with clients and therapists alike. O'Neill also incorporates the concept of narrative construction to frame the therapeutic process. According to the reviewer, this book is straightforward and refreshingly free from psychological jargon so it can be read by both professionals and the general public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)