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420 reviews for:
The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
Irvin D. Yalom
4.24 AVERAGE
420 reviews for:
The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
Irvin D. Yalom
4.24 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
In "The Gift of Therapy", Dr. Irvin D. Yalom writes letters of advice to future, as well as current, generations of mental health professionals (specifically psychotherapists). He urges the importance of dynamic and relational therapist-patient relationships as modern psychology has pushed an emphasis on diagnosis and brief, focused therapy. The first half of the book (Chapters 1-40) elaborates the importance of the therapeutic relationship with the emphasis of the here-and-now, which Dr. Yalom describes as the immediate events in the therapy hour and the relation between the therapist and patient as the main focal point for therapeutic intervention. He also provides rich advice on disclosure, transparency, feedback, empathy, self-monitoring, and support.
If you are looking for empirical and evidence-based psychology, this is not the book for you. Instead, it is a book that provides the younger and future generation advice on how to maintain and continue contributing to psychotherapy; which I think holds a lot of value as someone who is aspiring to become a mental health professional.
One thing that I wish was more apparent in this book of therapeutic advice is cultural competency and awareness. Dr. Irvin D. Yalom does not give cultural competent advice in this book which is imperative to becoming a quality care mental health provider. As western psychology is based on the knowledge of middle-class and older white men, all of his references direct towards this demographic. That is why it is important to include the work of non-white contributors to mental health as well. To better understand a patient and to give them the quality of care necessary to their mental wellness, it is imperative to understand the intersectionality of identities that they hold: cultural, religious, sexuality, gender identity, etc.
Overall I would recommend this as a good read. I believe that everyone can benefit from quality therapy. As Dr. Irvin D. Yalom said, therapy is created specifically for each individual patient.
If you are looking for empirical and evidence-based psychology, this is not the book for you. Instead, it is a book that provides the younger and future generation advice on how to maintain and continue contributing to psychotherapy; which I think holds a lot of value as someone who is aspiring to become a mental health professional.
One thing that I wish was more apparent in this book of therapeutic advice is cultural competency and awareness. Dr. Irvin D. Yalom does not give cultural competent advice in this book which is imperative to becoming a quality care mental health provider. As western psychology is based on the knowledge of middle-class and older white men, all of his references direct towards this demographic. That is why it is important to include the work of non-white contributors to mental health as well. To better understand a patient and to give them the quality of care necessary to their mental wellness, it is imperative to understand the intersectionality of identities that they hold: cultural, religious, sexuality, gender identity, etc.
Overall I would recommend this as a good read. I believe that everyone can benefit from quality therapy. As Dr. Irvin D. Yalom said, therapy is created specifically for each individual patient.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Whether you're an aspiring therapist, an experienced therapist, a person considering entering therapy, or just curious about the whole process, Yalom's [b:The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients|19168000|The Gift of Therapy An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients|Irvin D. Yalom|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436723092s/19168000.jpg|22212] provides terrific insight into how therapy works and how it affects not only the patient, but also the therapist. As usual, Yalom brings his deep compassion and commitment to this project, as well as his great intellectual ability. He does a wonderful job of combining ideas from a variety of fields into a coherent and enlightening whole.
Do try to get a later edition of this book, as Yalom's essay written for its reissue provides important perspective on some of the original content, including Yalom's (well balanced) ideas about the interaction of neurobiology and dynamic therapy and updates or reconsiderations of topics addressed in the original writing.
Do try to get a later edition of this book, as Yalom's essay written for its reissue provides important perspective on some of the original content, including Yalom's (well balanced) ideas about the interaction of neurobiology and dynamic therapy and updates or reconsiderations of topics addressed in the original writing.
I love Yalom's ideology, practice and books. I have underlined this book so much that the pages barely exist. If you are becoming a counsellor or simply want to know how to help people it is wonderful.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I read this for school (different cover than pictured) wherein we discussed the strengths and weaknesses throughout. A good book for someone wanting to go into therapy or communicate better with clients who may need a therapy referral.