The Gift of Therapy audiobook

Pushes the boundaries of modern therapy. The man touches his clients! Physically! OMG! Not only that, but he recommends that therapists should allow space between clients to digest and record and not fill every available therapeutic minute chasing another $! How wonderful, that we can still behave like humans in a field where that is what is so often needed. Validation. If therapists can't connect with clients how the hell is therapy supposed to work? Be where the client is. I think that's the main message of the book with, of course, wonderful examples of how he was with his clients. He may not be orthodox by today's standards but his clients went on to lead happier lives. Loved the inclusion of the Harry Stack Sullivan quote describing therapy as "a discussion of two people, one of them more anxious than the other." Note that it is not necessarily the client who is the anxious party!!

A fabulous book I would recommend to any aspiring or current therapist. Irvin Yalom writes concise and easy-to-read chapters that span several pertinent psychological topics, such as how to exude empathy and when to self-disclose. He hits on unique subjects like the relationship between sex and therapy, as well as the role of research in a therapeutic setting. His advice to focus on the present and to engage with clients in a way that transcends typical boundaries shows his expertise and insight to the field of therapy, and his use of case studies keeps The Gift of Therapy an inviting and intriguing read.Once again, recommended to anyone interested in therapy at all. One of those books that excites me for my future career.

My fourth Yalom book, this text was the perfect supplement to my Masters course in Psychology (actually sometimes the uni course felt like a supplement to the book!). In an age of “don’t touch your clients” and “don’t let your clients into your life”, comes such advice as “Let your patients matter to you”, “Be transparent” and “Make home visits”. While I wouldn’t agree with everything in this book, it is nonetheless a much-needed antidote to the rigid and restrictive formal training young therapists today receive. There is so much wisdom in this book, formulated as a very readable guide for the young therapist, with fascinating case examples – the whole package.

I have the impression that many books on therapy in the self-help section are full of watered-down insight and oft-repeated platitudes,like clever pats on the back repackaged a thousand times before---but this book is nothing like that. Yalom is widely considered a contemporary genius in the field when it comes to group therapy (which he is often credited with formulating for contemporary contexts), and this book, despite his occasional self-indulgences, is a testament to his brilliant self-effacing handle on the power of informed-compassion and the human capacity to attend to difficulties in the here-and-now. If you think you may want to be trained as a therapist or counselor, this book may provide excellent insight into how an expert counselor thinks and behaves, and it is full of wry and honest anecdotes about clients he has worked with, and all of their peculiarities. On that note, his clients are characters but they are also normal enough to normalize what receiving therapy may be like---so if you are considering it for yourself this is a good way to test the waters of your pre-contemplation. This book reflects experiential depth and without being painfully, theoretically explicit, is an exploration of what healing means to both those who heal and those who are healed. This will be a classic if it isn't already.

I'd like Irv Yalom as my therapist.In Gift of Therapy – and all of his books – Yalom is compassionate, wise, and literate. He is an emotional risk-taker, ethical, thoughtful, honest, and sometimes even funny. He is well-read and, even in the very short chapters that characterize this book (often two pages or less), Yalom may refer to Schopenhauer, Hesse, and Rilke, the way that I refer to my best friends and my children. Yalom is very human with his clients, even in the places where many of us would pretend to greater perfection than we could ever have. He is generally described as an existential psychotherapist and asks his clients to create real relationships with him and others, face the finiteness of life, and accept responsibility for how they are living – “Even if ninety-nine percent of the bad things that happen to you is someone else’s fault, I want to look at the other one percent—the part that is your responsibility. We have to look at your role, even if it’s very limited, because that’s where I can be of most help” (pp. 139-140). For Yalom, the therapeutic relationship is everything and technique is merely the conduit to building that relationship. He is a writer and philosopher, not a researcher, but would agree with Wampold and Imel (2015), for example, who observe that there is much more evidence supporting the efficacy of the therapeutic relationship than the therapeutic tasks alone. Yalom confesses to things that many of us do – or would want to do – but believe are verboten. He would argue that rigidly avoiding crossing boundaries isn't ethical, but inhumane. He says therapists are told: Avoid informality...; avoid first names, do not offer coffee or tea, do not run over the fifty-minute hour, and do not see a member of the opposite sex for the last hour of the day (all offenses to which I plead guilty) (p. 192). Obviously, Yalom wouldn't recommend violating boundaries (e.g., sex with clients), but he is able to see the difference between those interactions that foster relationships and those that undermine people.When therapists recommend books to each other for inspiration, this is always on the short list. Mentioning Gift of Therapy reminds most of us who we want to be in and out of the therapy room.A brief segment of Yalom working with a client.

I'm not a therapist but this book was full of so much wisdom about communicating with others that a lot the material is applicable to both my personal life and in my work as a teacher. There are so many useful tips here, and so this book merits rereads—and I will make sure to dip back in to fish out some morsel of wisdom from time to time.

A professor recommended How Can I Help? to budding social workers, and I'm recommending The Gift of Therapy. It's quite possible that no one in the world can really understand why we do what we do except for others in the profession, and this "open letter" is an excellent resource to remind us to keep on keeping on with a sense of humor and open hearts and minds.I give it two very solid thumbs up.

. ▪️Mi primera lectura del año y regalo de reyes ha sido "El don de la terapia" de Irvin D.Yalom. Un recopilatorio de capítulos cortitos dedicados tanto a los futuros terapeutas como a los pacientes, que trata diferentes campos de la psicología abordándolos a través de ejemplos y de la experiencia personal del autor como profesional. Varios conceptos mencionados me parecen de suma importancia para el desarrollo de la profesión: la empatía, la apertura del propio psicólogo, el "aquí y ahora" en el momento de entrevista personal y análisis, la necesidad de una comunicación y terapia continua que no debe ser substituida únicamente por fármacos, la flexibilidad y el equilibrio en la sesiones con el fin de la curación y/o la adaptación de las necesidades del paciente a las sesiones y a la comunicación conforme vayan surgiendo problemas. El autor mantiene una perspectiva "psicológica-existencialista" que busca abordar los problemas de aquellos que acuden a consulta a través del análisis de los aspectos humanos más vitales como son la muerte o la pérdida. Pero además, si algo me ha gustado, es que pone siempre por delante la necesidad de curación y para ello se muestra adaptable y comunicativo en lugar de dedicarse a establecer sus reglas. El que manda, digámoslo así, es el paciente y su sufrimiento. Es un libro muy inspirador que muestra los gajes del oficio de una forma directa y que trata de aconsejar de manera útil. Sin duda, creo que es un manual más práctico que teórico que me ha hecho ordenar y apuntar muchas notas a tener en cuenta en un futuro. Pienso que cuando uno tiene la suerte de dedicarse a lo que le gusta debe tratar de hacerlo lo mejor posible y con la mayor responsabilidad. Irvin D. Yalom alienta a todas las nuevas generaciones profesionales de que así sea y les recuerda la expresión latina: "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto". (Soy un hombre, nada humano me es ajeno).🌹

I was primarily acquainted with Irvin Yalom: "the group psychotherapy guru." However, he is equally strong as an individual psychodynamic psychotherapist and well-known author of several other books on the therapy process, most notable "Love's Executioner." This book is a slim volume he has written late in his career to advise primarily new therapists, drawing from 45 years of experience. It consists of 5 sections with short chapters, some only one page. Each chapter is succinct and direct. The book was a "gift" to me because he presented his ideas in an uncomplicated manner. His gentle writing style and caring tone was a welcomed break from more intense therapy literature. He clearly brought home the message "Therapy should not be theory driven but relationship driven." (xvii) It also reminded me of concepts that are "a given" but may not be stressed enough without conscious effort. One chapter is titled, "The Here and Now, Use it, Use it, Use it." (Small hint?) Staying present with a client is synonymous with the ubiquitous term "mindfulness." His ability to distill basic but very crucial truths about being attuned and helpful makes the book deceptively simple. I was particularly impressed with chapters which emphasize therapist's use of self. He is somewhat divergent from his strict psychoanalytic predecessors who were "blank screen" regarding any self-disclosure. Yalom demonstrates useful and genuine use of self which was a refreshing departure. I would recommend the book to therapists early in their work or "seasoned" professionals. Individuals who are in therapy or interested in psychology may enjoy it as well.