Reviews - The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

413 reviews for:

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients

Irvin D. Yalom

4.24 AVERAGE

juniperking's review against another edition

5.0

informative reflective slow-paced

Good recommendation for a new therapist, even if some of the advice feels a little dated.

damien_s's review against another edition

4.0

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

terriw5's review

4.0

Though I wasn't a fan of the listicle format, this book was a big breath of fresh air. Dr. Yalom connected to the deep why of I want to do therapy & healing work, and accurately gave voice to the parts of me that are critical of modern clinical practice.

Because of the format it's hard to catch all the bits and pieces of advice, but I left the book with an overall acknowledgement that it's okay-beneficial even- to be human in your practice; that therapists do not need to strive to be objective machines. Dr. Yalom emphasizes that therapy is first and foremost a humanistic practice, and that denying your humanness is not only reductive to the therapist, but denies the client the chance to connect deeply and feel even more seen.

My biggest takeaway then (which I already rationally knew, but appreciated the strong affirmation) is that true healing comes from the therapeutic alliance, with techniques and modalities being a support to the relationship but not the source of healing itself.