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417 reviews for:
The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
Irvin D. Yalom
4.24 AVERAGE
417 reviews for:
The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
Irvin D. Yalom
4.24 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Good book for beginner therapist, no need to read it from cover to cover, every chapter might not apply to you. I skipped a few chapters and although I disagreed with some of author’s POV on some topics, overall it’s a good book
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Struggled much with this text for the first half of this book but it really picked up for me in the second half. I think it is a really good read for all young therapists, especially since most of us feell pinned down by the idea of evidence based therapy, which this book addresses really well.
informative
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A must read for anyone aspiring to work in mental health services or currently working in mental health services.
I regret not having read this earlier! This was such a helpful read for me, and I’d recommend it to any therapist, new or seasoned.
Biggest takeaways for me:
- Focus on the “here and now” — what is happening in the room, and between you and your client
- Everything is “grist for the mill”, down to things as minor as the way someone grabs a tissue box
- The memorable parts of therapy for the therapist are not generally the same memorable parts of therapy for the client (or: your client doesn’t care that you’ve intellectualized their problem, but does remember your small acts of kindness towards them)
- Our task is to help clients understand the role they had in situations: “even if this horrible situation was 99% not your fault, let’s explore the 1% that might have been, because that’s where I can help you most”(this reminded me of Lori Gottleib’s memoir!)
- There were many helpful metaphors (a therapist as a tour guide in their client’s house) and specific turns of phrase for difficult/tricky situations that he shares with us which I am grateful to now have in my back pocket
Biggest takeaways for me:
- Focus on the “here and now” — what is happening in the room, and between you and your client
- Everything is “grist for the mill”, down to things as minor as the way someone grabs a tissue box
- The memorable parts of therapy for the therapist are not generally the same memorable parts of therapy for the client (or: your client doesn’t care that you’ve intellectualized their problem, but does remember your small acts of kindness towards them)
- Our task is to help clients understand the role they had in situations: “even if this horrible situation was 99% not your fault, let’s explore the 1% that might have been, because that’s where I can help you most”(this reminded me of Lori Gottleib’s memoir!)
- There were many helpful metaphors (a therapist as a tour guide in their client’s house) and specific turns of phrase for difficult/tricky situations that he shares with us which I am grateful to now have in my back pocket