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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This book was structurally very strange. The first section is strongly anchored in the life of the author. It is comprised of a recounted dream and reflection on his feelings toward his mother, followed by accounts of his work with several significant female patients. The latter section switches unannounced to stories told through the fictionalised Dr.Lash, a character somewhat adjacent to Yalom, playing out fictional scenarios quite removed from the reality of the book's earlier retellings.
This structural oddity was quite disruptive to the reading experience and would ordinarily lead me to reduce the rating significantly. Nevertheless, I find myself reluctant to do so. The book as a whole is just so full of revelatory moments. It holds such depth and impact as to render the reading experience profoundly therapeutic. I couldn't help feeling the force of implications for myself and the manner in which I hold back in my own life, relationships and therapy. This experience aligns the reader with silent participants in Yalom's group therapy, who he muses perhaps benefit "from spectator therapy: watching someone else work effectively in therapy often primes a patient for good therapeutic work in the future”. All this to say that I found the book odd but undeniably impactful. The opening dream sequence, in particular, is a beautifully succinct articulation of an existential phenomenon that has particular resonance and clarity for me.
This structural oddity was quite disruptive to the reading experience and would ordinarily lead me to reduce the rating significantly. Nevertheless, I find myself reluctant to do so. The book as a whole is just so full of revelatory moments. It holds such depth and impact as to render the reading experience profoundly therapeutic. I couldn't help feeling the force of implications for myself and the manner in which I hold back in my own life, relationships and therapy. This experience aligns the reader with silent participants in Yalom's group therapy, who he muses perhaps benefit "from spectator therapy: watching someone else work effectively in therapy often primes a patient for good therapeutic work in the future”. All this to say that I found the book odd but undeniably impactful. The opening dream sequence, in particular, is a beautifully succinct articulation of an existential phenomenon that has particular resonance and clarity for me.
کتاب خیلی خوبی بود. بسیار آموختم و بسیار چیزها هم دوباره یادآوری کرد. لذت زیادی از خواندنش بردم. از آن کتابهایی است که قطعا بار دیگر به سمتش خواهم رفت. تنها با داستان آخر نتوانستم ارتباط برقرار کنم. شاید یک بار دیگر بخوانمش.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
I particularly liked the “Double Exposure” story, where the “here and now” approach in psychotherapy is explored. The patient’s engagement with the therapist, apart from being informative about the patient’s behavioral patterns in the outside world, becomes the main focus of the treatment course (contrary to the more solitary and unidirectional approach, where the patient himself discovers truths about the way he operates - always with the prodding and guidance of the therapist, of course).
= = =
Myrna. Listen hard to what I’m going to say. You’re collecting and hoarding. You’re accumulating information from me, but you’re not giving anything back! I believe you’re trying to relate to me differently now but I’m not experiencing it as engagement. I don’t feel yet that you’re relating to me as a person—it’s more like you regard me as a data bank from which you make withdrawals.
Therapy is a two-person relationship demanding both interaction and exploration of that interaction; real feelings and mutual disclosure about the feelings evoked in the therapy interaction are necessary. Today many progressive psychoanalytic institutes have abandoned the old blank screen model in favor of a new model—the real two-person relationship—and published clinical investigations of that phenomenon—”intersubjectivity” or “two-person” psychology—are now commonplace in the professional literature.
= = =
Myrna. Listen hard to what I’m going to say. You’re collecting and hoarding. You’re accumulating information from me, but you’re not giving anything back! I believe you’re trying to relate to me differently now but I’m not experiencing it as engagement. I don’t feel yet that you’re relating to me as a person—it’s more like you regard me as a data bank from which you make withdrawals.
Therapy is a two-person relationship demanding both interaction and exploration of that interaction; real feelings and mutual disclosure about the feelings evoked in the therapy interaction are necessary. Today many progressive psychoanalytic institutes have abandoned the old blank screen model in favor of a new model—the real two-person relationship—and published clinical investigations of that phenomenon—”intersubjectivity” or “two-person” psychology—are now commonplace in the professional literature.
I really enjoyed this book and the themes that it explores. It is a mix of non-fiction and fiction, that explored hypothetical situations. I liked how in the last two tales the therapist was Ernest from the book, [b: Lying on the Couch|21030|Lying on the Couch|Irvin D. Yalom|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922897l/21030._SY75_.jpg|522147], which I had read earlier this month. This highlighted that these tales were fiction and as such exploring what could happen.
I think that Yalom's books are very interesting, and I fully intend to read more of them as they provide insight into the complex nature of therapy.
I think that Yalom's books are very interesting, and I fully intend to read more of them as they provide insight into the complex nature of therapy.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A wonderfully written, introspective collection of tales both real and fictional about the relationship between therapist and client. Many of them involve death or bereavement, and while Yalom presents these topics in a comforting and rational way, it is heavier reading than you may expect. (Depending on how many existential crises you may or may not have had.) I'm interested to read The Gift of Therapy, which I understand to be more instructive and less narrative than this particular book.
reflective
medium-paced
Never been a big fan of short stories (it takes me a while to get involved and then aww it's gone) but I loved the way Yalom talks about his practice and he always makes me think while keeping me very entertained. Loved especially the Dr Lash ones which reminded me of Lying on the Couch, my favorite so far.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced