Have you ever wondered how psychotherapy actually works? Have you ever been curious about what a therapist’s thoughts are while she is sitting with a patient? Do therapists feel emotions during session? What are they really thinking? How do therapists choose what personal information to share with their patients, and how might they time disclosure? How does a therapist respond upon receiving a gift from a patient? What aspects of the relationship need to be considered before a therapist accepts or declines a gift? In the Therapist’s Chair addresses these complex questions and many more. Creatively written and ingeniously told, each chapter provides the reader with exclusive examples of the therapeutic process as it happens, while skillfully teaching the art of psychotherapy. The volume clearly illuminates specific techniques of psychotherapy as it is lived and experienced in the treatment setting. Compelling and even humorous at times, In the Therapist’s Chair will appeal to the clinician, those in therapy and people interested in therapy alike. Review In the Therapist’s Chair the reader learns about the special attractions and concerns of Dr. Simon’s patients as they learn how to question their existence and understand what is important to them. These stories are both haunting and rich in human emotion. A book as comprehensive as this one is a welcome addition to any library. I will use this as a teaching tool and I hope you will too. Elliott Storch, LCSW, DCSW A profoundly honest, nuanced exploration of the world created between therapist and patient. A seamless blend of philosophy, technique, and quirky narrative. Sarah Mitchell, Psy. D.

Transformational Chairwork: Using Psychotherapeutic Dialogues in Clinical Practice is an exposition of the art and science of Chairwork. It is also a practical handbook for using the Chairwork method effectively with a wide range of clinical problems. Originally created by Dr. Jacob Moreno in the 1950s and then further developed by Dr. Fritz Perls in the 1960s, Chairwork has been embraced and re-envisioned by therapists from cognitive, behavioral, existential, Jungian, experiential, psychodynamic, and integrative perspectives. Transformational Chairwork builds on this rich and creative legacy and provides a model that is both integrative and trans-theoretical. The book familiarizes clinicians with essential dialogue strategies and empowers them to create therapeutic encounters and re-enactments. Chairwork interventions can be broadly organized along the lines of external and internal dialogues. The external dialogues can be used to help patients work though grief and loss, heal from interpersonal abuse and trauma, manage difficult relationships, and develop and strengthen their assertive voice. The internal dialogues in turn focus on resolving inner conflicts, combatting the negative impact of the inner critic and the experience of self-hatred, working with dreams and nightmares, and expanding the self through polarity work. Using both internal and external strategies, this book explores how Chairwork dialogues can be a powerful intervention when working with addictions, social oppression, medical issues, and psychosis. This is done through the use of compelling clinical examples and scripts that can be read, studied, and enacted. Chairwork’s central emphasis is helping patients express each of their voices as distinctly and as forcefully as possible. The book concludes with a review of the deepening technique—the strategies that therapists can use to help facilitate clarity and existential ownership.

Featuring more than 250 full-color illustrations and photographs, Therapeutic Chair Massage offers detailed instructions on the appropriate massage strokes, stretching techniques, and therapeutic routines to use in seated massage for both relaxation and specific therapeutic applications. The book also provides foundational information on equipment, hygiene, sanitation, safety, contraindications, communication and documentation, body mechanics, and establishing a seated massage business. Each chapter includes hands-on Experiential Exercises; Case Studies with critical thinking questions; Clinical Tips from the author's experience; and Of Special Interest Boxes that contain related and interesting information. Contraindications lists specify conditions that prohibit or limit the use of a particular stroke or technique.

Through eight compelling stories we get to know the Gestalt therapist Vikram Kolmannskog and some of his clients. These include the businessman Carl who is suffering from chronic burnout, the overwhelmed Marianne who believes she may have been the victim of sexual assualt, the trans woman Annette who breaks with dominant gender norms, the prisoner Jonny who is now encircled by his own self-made wall of isolation, and the beautiful Ask, who falls in love and others fall in love with - including the therapist Vikram. Through these tales of psychotherapy we see how both suffering and healing can occur. With increased awareness and through dialogue we can experience more of ourselves, the other and our world. We become more whole - and that is a good definition of health.

Cognitive Behavioural Chairwork: Distinctive Features provides a practical, accessible, and concise introduction to both the theory and practice of chairwork, one of the most powerful and exciting methods of intervention in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and is the first book to synthesise its many applications in CBT and allied therapies. Part of the popular 'CBT Distinctive Features' series, this book contains a wealth of effective experiential procedures for working with automatic thoughts, emotions, behaviours, core beliefs, ambivalence, strengths, well-being, and cognitive processes such as worry and self-criticism. Readers will also learn how chairwork is applied in other areas, such as clinical supervision and associated psychotherapeutic approaches including compassion focused therapy, schema therapy, positive psychotherapy, and motivational interviewing. Techniques are presented in an easy-to-understand format and illustrated using clinical examples and therapy transcripts. The result is a comprehensive guide which demystifies chairwork and places it at the heart of CBT’s continued evolution. Created for practising clinicians, researchers, and training therapists, Cognitive Behavioural Chairwork: Distinctive Features will appeal to both individuals who are new to chairwork and those who are familiar with its techniques.

From the bestselling author of Love's Executioner and When Nietzsche Wept comes a provocative exploration of the unusual relationships three therapists form with their patients. Seymour is a therapist of the old school who blurs the boundary of sexual propriety with one of his clients. Marshal, who is haunted by his own obsessive-compulsive behaviors, is troubled by the role money plays in his dealings with his patients. Finally, there is Ernest Lash. Driven by his sincere desire to help and his faith in psychoanalysis, he invents a radically new approach to therapy -- a totally open and honest relationship with a patient that threatens to have devastating results. Exposing the many lies that are told on and off the psychoanalyst's couch, Lying on the Couch gives readers a tantalizing, almost illicit, glimpse at what their therapists might really be thinking during their sessions. Fascinating, engrossing and relentlessly intelligent, it ultimately moves readers with a denouement of surprising humanity and redemptive faith.

Learn to get the most out of therapy to unlock your best self. Learn to get the most out of therapy to unlock your best self. Millions of Americans will go to therapy this year, but veteran psychotherapist Gary Trosclair believes the vast majority of them will start the process with little to no sense of how to best use their sessions to achieve their goals. Recent research has identified effective client participation as one of the most crucial factors in successful therapy. What can one do to get the most out of their sessions to create lasting positive changes in their lives? What does it look like to “work on it” in therapy? Trosclair covers these points and more, combining cutting-edge scientific research with years of fascinating anecdotal evidence to create a guide that is as compelling as it is indispensable. It teaches readers how to take off their masks and be real with their therapists, how to deal with emotions that arise in session, how to continue their psychological work outside of sessions, how to know when it’s time to say goodbye to their therapists, and much more. Whether you’re already in therapy and looking to make more out of each appointment, or you’re thinking of starting the process and want to go in with a game plan, I’m Working on It in Therapy will show you how you can make every session count towards becoming your best possible self.

The Adult Chair is more than a book, or a tool, or a process. It is an entirely new way to see your world, your relationships, your career, and your life.

Mental health professionals spend their days helping others, but who is there to help them when stress and burnout threaten their own well-being? Filled with self-assessments, journaling exercises, and activities designed to facilitate renewal, growth, and change, this timely book helps clinicians help themselves with coverage of career threatening issues, such as fear of failure, loss of confidence, and the financial stress and loss of autonomy that many clinician's experience as a result of managed care and its constraints.

Concise, clear, and featuring numerous clinical examples, this is the first book to include empirical studies of supervisor/supervisee disclosure, plus extensive research on patient/therapist disclosure. Other unique topics include disclosure issues in child therapy.