Book Review – The Gift of Therapy
Image: The Gift of Therapy by Len Lantz (CC BY-NC-ND)
Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 8 out of 10. An excellent book about providing or receiving high-quality psychotherapy.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD / 4.1.2020; No. 9
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a physician, but I’m not your doctor and this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. This article is for educational purposes and should not be seen as medical advice. You should consult with your physician before you rely on this information. This post also contains affiliate links. Please click this LINK for the full disclaimer.
Star Rating – 8 out of 10
Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow
Author
Irvin Yalom
About the author
Dr. Irvin Yalom is a psychiatrist who has mastered a form of therapy called existential psychotherapy and served as an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. He is a prolific writer of novels and books on psychotherapy. A documentary film, Yalom’s Cure, about his remarkable life is emblematic of his life’s work: an existential journey through the human psyche.
General description
The Gift of Therapy is a bestselling book filled with stories and insights gleaned from Dr. Yalom’s 35+ years of practicing psychotherapy. His aim is to keep the heart of the therapeutic process alive and fresh for the next generation of therapists and their patients. This book includes many tips and vignettes which offer proof to the wisdom that he provides.
Unique and most important aspects
This book was given to me by a dear friend who also had a background in therapy. Whenever we conversed, he would ask me if I had read it yet, as it had a profound effect on him when he read it during training. He ended up giving it to me as a gift when I went through a major professional transition. I can see why it impacted him. There are a variety of stories in this book, many of which are about transitions that people have gone through and how therapy, or simply their therapist, supported them through these transitions. It takes tremendous courage for any clinician to write such a book that makes the therapeutic process transparent to those not familiar with therapy.
Important themes from this book:
The centrality of relationships
Self-disclosure
The here-and-now focus
An increased sensibility to existential themes
The importance of dreams
Best quotes
“Accurate empathy is an essential trait not only for therapists but for patients, and we must help patients develop empathy for others. Keep in mind that our patients generally come to see us because of their lack of success in developing and maintaining gratifying interpersonal relationships. Many fail to empathize with the feelings and experiences of others.”
“At its very core, the flow of therapy should be spontaneous, forever following unanticipated riverbeds; it is grotesquely distorted by being packaged into a formula that enables inexperienced, inadequately trained therapists (or computers) to develop a uniform course of therapy. One of the true abominations spawned by the managed-care movement is the ever greater reliance on protocol therapy in which therapists are required to adhere to a prescribed sequence, a schedule of topics and exercises to be followed each week.”
Who would enjoy this book?
Anyone who wants a glimpse into the highest level of psychotherapy would enjoy this book.
Who would not enjoy this book?
People who would be bothered by Dr. Yalom’s negative statements about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) might not enjoy The Gift of Therapy.
Conclusion
The Gift of Therapy is an excellent book for people who want to learn more about providing or receiving high-quality psychotherapy.