On Becoming a Psychotherapist explores how psychotherapists develop as practitioners through both professional training and the training that can only be obtained through personal experience.

Revised and expanded for the digital age, this trusted guidebook and text helps novice psychotherapists of any orientation bridge the gap between coursework and clinical practice. It offers a window into what works and what doesn't work in interactions with patients, the ins and outs of the therapeutic relationship, and how to manage common clinical dilemmas. Featuring rich case examples, the book speaks directly to the questions, concerns, and insecurities of novice clinicians. Reproducible forms to aid in treatment planning can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Reflects two decades of technological changes--covers how to develop email and texting policies, navigate social media, use electronic medical records, and optimize teletherapy. *New chapters on professional development and on managing the impact of therapist life events (pregnancy and parental leave, vacations, medical issues). *Instructive discussion of systemic racism, cultural humility, and implicit bias. *Significantly revised chapter on substance use disorders, with a focus on motivational interviewing techniques. *Reproducible/downloadable Therapist Tools.

Why do people want to become a psychotherapist? How do they translate this desire into reality? On Becoming a Psychotherapist explores these and related questions. Ten leading therapists write about their profession and their careers, examining how and why they became pyschotherapists. The contributors, representing a wide cross-section of their profession, come from both Britian and America, from different theoretical backgrounds, and are at different stages in their careers. They write in a personal and revealing way about their childhoods, families, colleagues, and training. This absorbing and fascinating book offers a fresh perspective on psychotherapy and the people attracted to it.

This well-respected guide to psychoanalytic psychotherapy addresses key issues for both beginning and practicing therapists, from the rhythm of the initial, middle, and final stages of therapy to the setting up of an office and the handling of fees and insurance. The book also deals with the management of borderline and potentially suicidal or homocidal patients in an out-patient setting. Unique in their direct approach to problems in a therapist's own life, the authors also discuss transference and contertransference issues that arise with pregnancy, changes in the therapist's love attachments, age, illness and a death in the practitioner's family. New in this second edition is a chapter on women therapists and women patients.

Nina Coltart's classic work, How to Survive as a Psychotherapist, was written over a quarter of a century ago and yet still resonates today with sage advice for the aspiring and established psychotherapist. This reissue contains a new Foreword from celebrated psychoanalyst David E. Scharff and an updated Further Reading section. Not simply a "how to" manual, this compact book is an amalgam of down-to-earth practicality about assessment, the pleasures of psychotherapy as opposed to analysis, details of how to run a practice, vivid clinical stories which don't necessarily turn out well, discussions of Buddhism, and an autobiographical finale on the balance between life and work, including Coltart's choice to live alone. Written in deceptively simple language, it reads easily and encourages beginners, but its backbone is the accrued wisdom for a career containing "survival-with-enjoyment" that offers new perspectives to both mid-career and experienced therapists and teachers. The professional autobiographical quality of the book reveals a lot about Coltart: her love of psychotherapy over full analysis and the number of strictures in analysis that she feels bind rather than guide. She describes the first years, in training and beyond, as full of anxiety: trying to get things right whilst an inner critical voice and the judgement of supervisors and teachers hangs over it all. Slowly, as time goes by, the ability to relax into a career with confidence in one's own voice, knowledge, and intuition leads to a capacity for enjoyment of what can seem to outsiders a grim profession dealing only with suffering. Coltart's book celebrates psychotherapy and its practitioners, and is full of interesting and practical advice that both experienced and novice psychotherapists will find invaluable. This enduring classic has stood the test of time and should be a feature of every aficionado's bookshelf.

Barry L. Duncan presents therapists with a comprehensive, evidence-based program for monitoring your clinical effectiveness and tracking your professional development, one client at a time.

Lessons from the personal experience and reflections of a therapist. The difficulty and cost of training psychotherapists properly is well known. It is far easier to provide a series of classes while ignoring the more challenging personal components of training. Despite the fact that the therapist's self-insight, emotional maturity, and calm centeredness are critical for successful psychotherapy, rote knowledge and technical skills are the focus of most training programs. As a result, the therapist's personal growth is either marginalized or ignored. The Making of a Therapist counters this trend by offering graduate students and beginning therapists a personal account of this important inner journey. Cozolino provides a unique look inside the mind and heart of an experienced therapist. Readers will find an exciting and privileged window into the experience of the therapist who, like themselves, is just starting out. In addition, The Making of a Therapist contains the practical advice, common-sense wisdom, and self-disclosure that practicing professionals have found to be the most helpful during their own training.The first part of the book, 'Getting Through Your First Sessions,' takes readers through the often-perilous days and weeks of conducting initial sessions with real clients. Cozolino addresses such basic concerns as: Do I need to be completely healthy myself before I can help others? What do I do if someone comes to me with an issue or problem I can't handle? What should I do if I have trouble listening to my clients? What if a client scares me?The second section of the book, 'Getting to Know Your Clients,' delves into the routine of therapy and the subsequent stages in which you continue to work with clients and help them. In this context, Cozolino presents the notion of the 'good enough' therapist, one who can surrender to his or her own imperfections while still guiding the therapeutic relationship to a positive outcome. The final section, 'Getting to Know Yourself,' goes to the core of the therapist's relation to him- or herself, addressing such issues as: How to turn your weaknesses into strengths, and how to deal with the complicated issues of pathological caretaking, countertransference, and self-care.Both an excellent introduction to the field as well as a valuable refresher for the experienced clinician, The Making of a Therapist offers readers the tools and insight that make the journey of becoming a therapist a rich and rewarding experience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Initial Expectations--Professional responsibilites. -- Preparations. -- The initial interview. -- Consultations. -- Giving a staffing report. -- Beginning therapy: feedback and contracting. -- Conducting the session. -- Some more sophisticated therapy skills. -- The client in crisis. -- Termination. -- Record keeping. -- Cotherapy. -- Children and families.

Psychotherapists are often deeply affected by the therapeutic relationships they form with patients. This book studies the impact of psychotherapeutic practice on the personal life and relationships of the therapist, examining the various personal benefits and hazards which result from conducting psychotherapy. Provides a novel approach to care for the psychotherapist, offering thoughtful, concrete suggestions for the prevention and treatment of various forms of therapist work-related impairment or disability. Avoids stressing one particular theoretical orientation over another while it confronts stereotypes regarding a career in psychotherapy. Topics covered include: the factors leading to the decision to become a psychotherapist; the impact of physical and psychological isolation on the therapist; effects of pyschotherapeutic practice on therapist's interpersonal relationships; therapist impairment; and therapist burnout. By providing information regarding the incidence, etiology, development, prevention and treatment of work-realted dysfunction, this text assists the therapist in formulating a comprehensive self-care program.