Vaughan, Susan C., M.D. Many therapists and their patients find that the traditional talking therapy still offers the best hope for long-term relief from depression and other psychological ailments. This is especially true for people who worry about the side effects of Prozac and other similar drugs. Now Dr. Susan Vaughan offers compelling evidence, based on new scientific research, that the process of talking with a trained therapist actually alters the way the brain's neurons are connected and effects permanent, positive changes in how we interact with the world. Dr. Vaughan interweaves stories from therapy sessions with cutting-edge research results. She shows how interpreting dreams, free-associating, and attention to childhood experiences have an impact on the structure of our brain. Anyone who, for one reason or another, questions the value of long-term drug therapy will welcome the alternative approach presented here.

An in-depth look at a much misunderstood practice, offering a fresh viewpoint on how this science can be a universally effective route to our better selves.

From a seasoned scholar, clinician, and teacher, this lively, highly readable text probes where the field of psychotherapy is now and where it may be headed in the future. Robert L. Woolfolk explores commonalities and differences among major therapeutic approaches, as well as their philosophical underpinnings. He critiques the growing medicalization of mental health care--in particular, the attempt to fit psychotherapy to the templates of evidence-based medicine. Students gain an appreciation of the enduring value of "the talking cure" for addressing perennial questions: ?Who am I?? ?What can I become?? ?What kind of life is worth having, and how can I achieve it?? The book makes a strong case for the benefits of psychotherapy not only as a method for treating disorders, but also as a practice that can promote practical wisdom and human flourishing.

How and why did the psychoanalytic psychotherapies arise out of psychoanalysis a half-century ago? What are the similarities and the differences - in goals, strategies, and results - between psychoanalysis and the psychotherapies, and how have they changed over time? How have conceptual and technical advances in psychoanalysis influenced the relationship between psychoanalysis and the dynamic psychotherapies? In this book, an eminent psychoanalytic theoretician, clinician, educator, and researcher, who has been investigating the processes and outcomes of psychoanalysis and the related psychoanalytic psychotherapies for more than four decades, addresses these questions. Dr. Robert S. Wallerstein discusses, among other topics, the different models of psychoanalysis and the dynamic psychotherapies; the crystallization of consensus on these concepts in the post-World War II period and the progressive fragmentation in subsequent decades; and the relation of these evolving trends both to the proliferating relational and interactional perspectives in today's psychoanalytic world and to the increasing acknowledgment and acceptance of our worldwide psychoanalytic theoretical diversity.

Family therapist Terence Campbell provides a much needed critique of our therapy-happy society. He warns of the dangers that await the unwary, vulnerable client seeking answers for normal life problems. All too often, psychotherapy creates more harm than healing. Without condemning ALL therapy, Campbell takes a hard look at the destructive form psychotherapy has taken for many of its practitioners. In many cases, therapists encourage a sick, dependent relationship in which the client invests undue authority in the supposedly all-wise psychologist. "Many therapists act as if their charisma, & only their charisma, can alleviate a client's distress," Campbell writes. Millions of people are in "therapy" at any given time, at a cost of billions of dollars. The widespread result is not only a gigantic waste of money & time, but the actual loss of mental health & normal functioning, as clients are encouraged to see themselves as terribly traumatized & damaged. Among other things Campbell reveals how: * The majority of therapists routinely ignore scientific research in their field, & instead rely on what they "believe" is effective treatment. * Many therapists purposely alienate clients from close relationships & family while encouraging a greater dependence on the therapist. Beware the Talking Cure is timely & disturbing. Through compelling case histories, Dr. Campbell hammers home his points.

'Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.' Carl Jung The essence of successful therapy is the relationship, a dance of growing trust and understanding between the therapist and the patient. It is an intimate, messy, often surprising and sometimes confusing business - but when it works, it's life-changing. Gill Straker and Jacqui Winship, two esteemed Sydney-based psychotherapists, bring us nine inspiring stories of transformation. They introduce us to their clients, fictional amalgams of real-life cases, and reveal how the art of talking and listening helps us understand deep-seated issues that profoundly influence who we are in the world and how we see ourselves in relation to others. We come to understand that the transformative power of the therapeutic relationship can be replicated in our everyday lives by the simple practice of paying attention and being present with those we love. Whether you have experienced therapy (or are tempted to try it), or you are just intrigued by the possibilities of a little-understood but transformative process, this wise and compassionate book will deepen your understanding of what it is to be open to connection - and your appreciation that to be human is to be a little bit mad.