As the average length of therapy shortens, clinicians need a resource to lead them step-by-step through the goals and process of the opening sessions of brief therapy as well as clear treatment maps for the most common presenting problems. This resource helps clinicians do just that and more, including doing a quick assessment and isolating and addressing the underlying emotional wounds that prevent families and couples from solving problems on their own. Readers will not only learn how to "think brief," they will also discover how to navigate the session process in an interactive and action-oriented way, even with clients who are in high-pressure, crisis situations.

As the average length of therapy shortens, clinicians need a resource to lead them step-by-step through the goals and process of the opening sessions of brief therapy as well as clear treatment maps for the most common presenting problems. This resource helps clinicians do just that and more, including doing a quick assessment and isolating and addressing the underlying emotional wounds that prevent families and couples from solving problems on their own. Readers will not only learn how to "think brief," they will also discover how to navigate the session process in an interactive and action-oriented way, even with clients who are in high-pressure, crisis situations.

Process-Focused Therapy weaves together three key perspectives to help clinicians create a more effective therapeutic session: client problems as faulty process, the goal of therapy as changing such faulty process within the session and the art of shaping the session process for each client. Each practical chapter enables professionals to focus on bridging the gap between the client's language (content) and the clinician's language (process) and on the need to assess and shift this focus quickly within each session to create a new and productive therapeutic experience. The book starts with the concept of "how you do anything is how you do everything" and details tools that clinicians can use to identify a client's "stuckpoints," (i.e. the faulty process that keeps clients from effectively solving their life problems). The reader is then provided with treatment maps for each of the most commonly presented stuckpoints, and guidance on how to present clients with a preliminary treatment plan. Next, the author explains techniques for building rapport, changing the emotional climate, staying in lockstep, and repairing breaks in the process and shows, through transcribed sessions, how to craft sessions to maximize their emotional and therapeutic impact. Finally, clinicians will learn how to apply these concepts and techniques to their established clinical model. With rich vignettes included throughout and end-of-chapter questions to invite the reader to reflect on their own practice and consolidate their knowledge of therapeutic processes, Process-Focused Therapy will be a valuable guide for both beginning and experienced therapists.

The average client today only comes to therapy five to eight times and many only come once, so it is increasingly important, therefore, for therapists to achieve first-session success. Therapeutic skills and sales and marketing savvy are equally important to this task. In the first sixty minutes, clinicians must build trust, communicate what they have to offer and ensure that the client feels different walking out to how they felt when they walked in. Short, practical and applicable to all therapeutic modalities, this book walks readers through all the first-session essentials, including preparation for the first session, action-steps for each stage of the session, techniques for changing the emotional climate and "closing the deal" to make sure that clients come back for more. Packed with case examples, vignettes, tools and techniques, The Art of the First Session prepares clinicians with critical skills to cut through performance anxiety, feel and convey confidence with clients and hit the ground running in therapy with new clients.

Process-Focused Therapy weaves together three key perspectives to help clinicians create a more effective therapeutic session: client problems as faulty process, the goal of therapy as changing such faulty process within the session and the art of shaping the session process for each client. Each practical chapter enables professionals to focus on bridging the gap between the client's language (content) and the clinician's language (process) and on the need to assess and shift this focus quickly within each session to create a new and productive therapeutic experience. The book starts with the concept of "how you do anything is how you do everything" and details tools that clinicians can use to identify a client's "stuckpoints," (i.e. the faulty process that keeps clients from effectively solving their life problems). The reader is then provided with treatment maps for each of the most commonly presented stuckpoints, and guidance on how to present clients with a preliminary treatment plan. Next, the author explains techniques for building rapport, changing the emotional climate, staying in lockstep, and repairing breaks in the process and shows, through transcribed sessions, how to craft sessions to maximize their emotional and therapeutic impact. Finally, clinicians will learn how to apply these concepts and techniques to their established clinical model. With rich vignettes included throughout and end-of-chapter questions to invite the reader to reflect on their own practice and consolidate their knowledge of therapeutic processes, Process-Focused Therapy will be a valuable guide for both beginning and experienced therapists.

Psychotherapists just starting out in the field often have more questions than answers: "Am I really cut out for this job?" "Where do I want my career to be heading?" "How do I deal with my reactions to clients, or theirs to me?" In this empathic book, seasoned therapist and supervisor Robert Taibbi speaks directly to new clinicians about the world of work and the workplace, the arc of careers, and the keys to staying creative and energized. The book can be read sequentially or readers can dip into the 59 concise chapters on such topics as honing clinical skills, first-aid when sessions go off the rails, supervision problems, transitioning into private practice, and how to be wise. Insightful reflection questions are woven throughout.

In some cases long-term therapy that seeks to assess a client's history and gain insight over the course of many sessions isn't always possible. Immediate behavior change and concrete steps to fix the problem at hand are sometimes more practical and desirable. Grounded in a results-oriented brief therapy model, this user-friendly guide presents the author's "boot camp" approach-focusing on a client's immediate behavior, helping them to do things differently, take action, concentrate on process, and use targeted goals and homework to jump-start and motivate them into taking risks and breaking patterns. Following this approach, Taibbi walks readers through session-by-session treatment "maps" for achieving solutions to three of the most common issues in therapy.

*Update to a successful resourceand text, featuring 35% new material. *Reader-friendly, pragmatic, real-world guide to effective, brief work with couples. *An excellent introduction for new therapists or those new to couples work. *Taibbi is the author of Doing Family Therapy and the "Fixing Families" columnist for Psychology Today. *Includes illuminating case examples and downloadable/reproducible handouts.

*"What they don't teach in school"--encouraging guidance for newly minted therapists and counselors from all mental health disciplines. *Answers from an expert with 50 years’ experience to questions potentially too awkward or personal to broach in a formal setting. * Puts the reader in the driver's seat to manage career decisions, personal growth, challenging situations, and more. *Approachable: Taibbi shares his own past mistakes and dilemmas to help normalize the bumpy road to becoming a professional therapist.

*A student- and clinician-friendly work, with all chapters revised; 35% new material includes new sidebars highlighting common challenges. *Features a rich array of cases to illustrate techniques, issues, pitfalls, and insights. *The author's nearly 50 years of experience shine through in this work and his many related workshops. *Excellent as a core text or supplement to an MFT survey textbook.

*Update to a successful resourceand text, featuring 35% new material. *Reader-friendly, pragmatic, real-world guide to effective, brief work with couples. *An excellent introduction for new therapists or those new to couples work. *Taibbi is the author of Doing Family Therapy and the "Fixing Families" columnist for Psychology Today. *Includes illuminating case examples and downloadable/reproducible handouts.