This is a book that integrates what is known from a wide variety of disciplines about the nature of storytelling and how it influences and transforms people's lives. Drawing on material from the humanities, sociology, anthropology, neurophysiology, media and communication studies, narrative inquiry, indigenous healing traditions, as well as education, counseling, and therapy, the book explores the ways that therapists operate as professional storytellers. In addition, our job is to hold and honor the stories of our clients, helping them to reshape them in more constructive ways. The book itself is written as a story, utilizing engaging prose, research, photographs, and powerful anecdotes to draw readers into the intriguing dynamics and processes involved in therapeutic storytelling. It sets the stage for what follows by discussing the ways that stories have influenced history, cultural development, and individual worldviews and then delves into the ways that everyday lives are impacted by the stories we hear, read, and view in popular media. The focus then moves to stories within the context of therapy, exploring how client stories are told, heard, and negotiated in sessions. Attention then moves to the ways that therapists can become more skilled and accomplished storytellers, regardless of their theoretical preferences and style.

There are certain assumptions about the practice of counseling that are accepted as "truths," beliefs that are so pervasive that they remain unchallenged by almost all practitioners of all persuasions and approaches. In this book noted authors Jeffrey Kottler and Rick Balkin cover a wide range of myths, misconceptions, and assumptions that have remained unchallenged or that have little research to support their efficacy. Topics covered include the sacrosanct "50 minute hour," how basic research is conducted and whether the results inform actual practice, why progress made in therapy often doesn't last, what social justice actually means, and what makes someone an effective therapist. Each chapter describes an issue, explores the way it operates in daily practice, and then presents empirical evidence to question or challenge its current use. In cases where there is little or no definitive research to support or refute the procedure, belief, or practice the authors present some critical questions that will at the very least encourage counselors to reflect on what they do and why.

In this book, Jeffrey Kottler and Jon Carlson turn their well-polished therapy microscopes onto the subjects of lying, falsehood, deceit, and the loss of trust in the counseling room. What do clients lie about and why? When do therapists mislead or withhold information from their clients? What does it all mean? In their exploration of this taboo material, the authors interview and share stories from dozens of their peers from all practice areas and modalities and ranging from neophytes to established master practitioners. Their stories and reflections cast some light on this fascinating topic and will help to start a more honest dialogue about difficult subject matter.

Many therapists have likely worked with a client who has caused the therapist to confront his most cherished beliefs, or has changed the therapist in ways that forever altered the way he performs therapy, looks at the world, and sees himself. The author of this book found himself in just such a situation, causing him to begin his own search for truth. This book is the result of his search; it explores the nature of truth in psychotherapy and in the therapist s life, examining some of the things that are often denied and rarely spoken about.

This book contains two parallel narratives: the first tells the story of Jacob, a man in his seventies, who lived through one of the most dramatic periods in history and actually altered events through his acts of violence. Following him from his childhood to his recruitment, training, and life as an assassin, it is a tale of intrigue, of adventure and courage, but one that also raises a number of profound moral issues. The reader will find several unexpected but significant themes scattered throughout Jacob s story which, upon close examination, have significant implications for the ways therapists think about their work and their relationships with clients.

The second narrative details the author s struggles as a therapist as he tries to make sense of his doubt, imperfections, and self-deceptions. The reader will join him on his search for truth in both psychotherapy and life. His story becomes a lesson for digging deep into the complex and ambiguous nature of what therapists do and what they think they learn in their work.

A greatly unique and fascinating work, readers will find themselves both enthralled in and changed by Jacob s story and the author s journey.

This volume is intended to help practicing therapists and counselors, as well as students of these professions, to explore more fully and systematically the processes of self-improvement in their work and lives. It captures the reader's interest by discussing some of the therapist's personal and professional challenges in a refreshingly honest way. The book deals with a number of standard areas of self-supervision, such as self-monitoring and working with mentors, and provides a framework and a process for examining one's own strengths and weaknesses, then taking steps to improve excellence across a host of domains.

Doing Better is intended to help therapists and counselors to explore more fully and systematically the processes of self-improvement in their work and lives.

In this book, Jeffrey Kottler and Jon Carlson turn their well-polished therapy microscopes onto the subjects of lying, falsehood, deceit, and the loss of trust in the counseling room. What do clients lie about and why? When do therapists mislead or withhold information from their clients? What does it all mean? In their exploration of this taboo material, the authors interview and share stories from dozens of their peers from all practice areas and modalities and ranging from neophytes to established master practitioners. Their stories and reflections cast some light on this fascinating topic and will help to start a more honest dialogue about difficult subject matter.

Traditional training in counseling and psychotherapy makes minimal distinctions on the ages of the client and therapist in the treatment process. Therapy Over 50: Aging Issues in Psychotherapy and the Therapist's Life highlights how therapy is frequently a very different process for the older client and therapist. Specifically, this book explores: a) how therapists over 50 (or approaching that life transition) experience, struggle, and enjoy doing therapy in ways that are different from when they were younger (this includes their special challenges, adaptations, fears, and joys); and b) the landscape related to working clinically with aging clients, and those approaches and strategies that work best with this population. The text also includes both current research and classic literature on the subject of aging issues in therapy, as well as current excerpts from interviews the authors will conduct with some of the most notable aging figures in the fields of counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, and clinical psychology.

In Their Finest Hour, therapists on the cutting edge of their profession detail their most professionally rewarding cases and share what they learnt from them. These outstanding therapists define achievement in their field, describe how therapy really works and speak frankly about how their cases shaped their ideas. Each interview was recorded and then transcribed and written into narrative prose, including re-created dialogue that was based on case notes and recordings. The contributors approved all the material and the identifying features of clients were disguised. There have been some excellent books in the past about the most interesting and seminal cases of psychotherapy, but never have the greatest successes of the most accomplished theoreticians been assembled in one volume, and told in their own words. Included are stories from: Michael Yapko Albert Ellis Stephen Lankton Arnold Lazarus Jon Carlson William Glasser Previously published as ISBN 9780205430031.

For more than thirty years, On Being a Therapist has inspired generations of mental health professionals to explore the most private and sacred aspects of their work helping others. In this thoroughly revised and updated fifth edition, Jeffrey Kottler explores many of the challenges that therapists face in their practices today, including pressures from increased technology, economic realities, and advances in theory and technique. He also explores the stress factors that are brought on from managed care bureaucracy, conflicts at work, and clients' own anxiety and depression. This new edition includes updated sources, new material on technology, new problems that therapists face, and two new chapters: "On Being a Therapeutic Storyteller-and Listener" and "On Being a Client: How to Get the Most from Therapy." Generations of students and practitioners in counseling, clinical psychology, social work, psychotherapy, marriage and family therapy, and human services have found comfort and confidence in On Being a Therapist, and this Fifth Edition - intended to be the author's last major update to the seminal work - only builds upon this solid foundation as it continues to educate helping professionals everywhere.