"This superb book should be an essential part of any graduate training program in clinical psychology. It describes the use of an empirically supported method for improving therapy practice that does not depend on theoretical point of view. Duncan shows how gathering feedback session-by-session helps therapists quickly get to the key issues, evaluate when things are not going well, and make changes to improve service. This is all complemented by Duncan's incredible capacity to demonstrate how to enlist clients and their resources in their own self-growth; Art C. Bohart" -- BOOK JACKETEmr.

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.

An integrative approach for child therapists of all disciplines and at all levels of training and experience. How to Be a Better Child Therapist is an innovative contribution to the theory and practice of child therapy. Drawing on several decades of experience, Kenneth Barish presents a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to therapeutic work with children and families, based on a contemporary understanding of children’s emotions and emotional needs. This book offers a new theoretical integration, an in-depth discussion of the essential processes of child therapy, and a wealth of practical recommendations to help child therapists solve the varied problems presented to us in daily clinical work. Part 1 provides a theoretical foundation. Barish demonstrates how emotional and behavioral problems of childhood are most often caused by vicious cycles of painful emotions and pathogenic family interactions. Successful therapy arrests this malignant development and sets in motion positive cycles of healthy emotional and interpersonal experiences—increased confidence and engagement in life and more affirming interactions between parents and children. Over time, children and adolescents develop a less critical inner voice and more positive expectations for their future—a new sense of what is possible in their lives. Part 2 describes 10 principles that guide our efforts toward this overarching therapeutic goal. Barish offers advice on how we can improve all aspects of clinical work with children: How can we engage more children in treatment? Why is empathy essential to children’s emotional health and effective therapy? How do children learn to regulate their emotions? What is the role of play in contemporary child therapy? How can we combat a child’s discouragement and self-doubt? How can we overcome children’s resistance to talking about bad feelings? Part 3 presents a framework for therapeutic work with parents. Barish describes general principles for strengthening family relationships as well as practical plans for solving many common problems of their daily family life. He offers strategies for helping children who have difficulty with separations, doing homework, getting ready in the morning, or going to sleep at night; children with tantrums and uncooperativeness, rudeness and disrespect, sibling conflicts, and addiction to video games—problems for which parents, often urgently, ask our help. How to Be a Better Child Therapist is both inspiring and practical, essential reading for therapists of all theoretical orientations who work with children and families.

Learn from master therapists and bring your skills to the next level Bringing a breath of fresh air to the therapy profession, this compelling and thoughtful resource urges readers to move from competency to full mastery in the mental health field. Combining the findings of hundreds of previous studies, interviews with a wide range of master therapists, own unique experiences and perspectives, Jeffery A. Kottler and Jon Carlson have devised a guide that takes therapists out of their comfort zones. Professionals in the fields of psychology, counseling, social work, and human services, as well as graduate students studying for these professions, will find a level of honesty and candor in this resource, which tackles a range of essential topics in a frank, personal tone, and closes with a meaningful discussion about the challenges of striving for mastery. Master therapists and authors Kottler and Carlson explore a range of hot-button topics, such as: Cultural misunderstandings Disliking your clients (or having clients dislike you) Receiving negative feedback from clients Injecting creativity into the therapeutic process Finding time for social justice and advocacy On Being a Master Therapist provides a much-needed look at a range of topics that aren't often given such genuine and insightful treatment, with the goal of helping you attain the attributes that truly distinguish excellence in clinical practice. Start on your journey toward mastery with this thoughtful resource.

Updating the classic first edition of The Heart and Soul of Change, editors Duncan, Miller, Wampold, and Hubble, have created a new and enriched volume that presents the most recent research on what works in therapeutic practice, a thorough analysis of this research, and practical guidance on how a therapist can truly deliver what works in therapy. This volume examines the common factors underlying effective psychotherapy and brings the psychotherapist and the client-therapist relationship back into focus as key determinants of psychotherapy outcome. The second edition of The Heart and Soul of Change also demonstrates the power of systematic client feedback to improve effectiveness and efficiency and legitimize psychotherapy services to third party payers. In this way, psychotherapy is implemented one person at a time, based on that unique individuals perceptions of the progress and fit of the therapy and therapist. Readers familiar with the first edition will encounter the same pragmatic focus but with a larger breadth of coveragethis edition adds chapters on both youth psychotherapy and substance abuse treatment. Through reading The Heart and Soul of Change, Second Edition: Delivering What Works in Therapy clinicians of varied levels of experience will improve their understanding of what is truly therapeutic in the diverse forms of psychotherapy practiced today.

This book identifies which characteristics make therapists more or less effective in their work and proposes guidelines to improve their effectiveness.