Helping professionals tend not to talk about loving their clients or students. Instead they use terms such as unconditional positive regard or empathy. This book presents a study of personal growth experiences during psychotherapy training. These journeys were described as tumultuous, yet transformative, in nature, and paralleled the psychotherapy process itself. The words of the graduates echoed those of Kahil Gibran writing about love. Poets, spiritual writers and ordinary folk speak freely of love, yet psychotherapists are much more constrained. This book explores journeys of self-development, the nature of love, and the alchemical force of love in facilitating personal growth. Set in Aotearoa/New Zealand the study brings a bicultural perspective to psychotherapy training. Stories told by local psychotherapy graduates are set alongside the voices of psychotherapy trainers from around the world. In the conclusion there are suggestions as to why psychotherapists and psychotherapy trainers shy away from directly naming the complex phenomenon we call love, and why we should start a challenging dialogue where we face head on the central place of love in our work.

"The Broken Toy: A Story of a Fragile X Syndrome Child" is an inspirational account detailing the trials and triumphs of raising a special needs child. The goal is to help each and every parent with the courage, common sense, appropriate education, and love needed in raising their son or daughter. Determination and years of training resulted in an adult filled with hope, ability, and the opportunity for a productive life. This emotional tale of one child with a "disability" will serve as support for all parents. The Broken Toy details an engrossing and absorbing description of a special child's development from infancy to adulthood. The author's common sense approach to parenting will assist all parents in their life-long journey.