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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 283. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 14:29:08
a Psychology book club?
I guess Dr. Bob would move it to Books.
But it might be fun to read stuff together, since I know we all read stuff separately anyway.
Posted by 10derHeart on April 30, 2005, at 14:48:09
In reply to Would anyone be interested in doing, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 14:29:08
I would. I probably haven't read half as much as some, and maybe a bit more than others. But I'd be willing to read a book over again in order to share it with others. I probably rushed through some as I "devoured" them a while back, and missed things anyway. (I used to be starving for this stuff, but now am usually only mildly hungry - probably partly thanks to two decent T.s)
Sounds like a good idea, Dinah :-)
Posted by pegasus on April 30, 2005, at 14:59:06
In reply to Would anyone be interested in doing, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 14:29:08
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 15:02:00
In reply to great idea! (nm), posted by pegasus on April 30, 2005, at 14:59:06
Either likely to be available in a library or not too expensive would probably be best, although there's no rule that says we couldn't do more than one if a few people want to and can afford to do a more expensive one.
Even if only three of us are interested, that's plenty.
I'm trying to think of any I haven't read yet. Hmmmm... How about y'all suggest first and I'll think.
Posted by Tamar on April 30, 2005, at 15:27:48
In reply to Book suggestions?, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 15:02:00
Sounds like a good plan! I stayed up all night reading Yalom's "Love's Executioner" (pretty tired today!). I'd love to talk books with other people.
Posted by LadyBug on April 30, 2005, at 16:02:46
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » Dinah, posted by Tamar on April 30, 2005, at 15:27:48
I've read and re-read Yaloms 'The Gift of Therapy'.
I've read 'The Talking Cure'.
I've read Patricia Farrell's 'How To Be Your Own Therapist'.
I read Dr. Phil's books and really liked 'Self Mattters'.
I've mastered 'In Session'!!!!
Just to name a few for now.
I *love* to read. It has helped me understand the therapy process. In the beginning I think I thought I could read myself through the process. Wrong!! I figured out in a hurry that I had to GO THROUGH the process in order to change.
I'm still working on it. And will be for a long time to come.
Any other suggestions? If I like a book I want to own it. I usually go to Barnes and Noble and read, if I like it I buy it, if not I can put in back on the shelf.
LadyBug
Posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 16:03:33
In reply to Book suggestions?, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 15:02:00
Articles are another possibility. Ones that we can either get online or where someone can download them and email them on to other people who are interested.
One advantage is that they are shorter for people who may not want to committ to a book. Another is that we could cover more of a range of topics and / or perspectives on the same topic rather than just getting one authors pov. Just a thought.
> Either likely to be available in a library or not too expensive would probably be best, although there's no rule that says we couldn't do more than one if a few people want to and can afford to do a more expensive one.
>
> Even if only three of us are interested, that's plenty.
>
> I'm trying to think of any I haven't read yet. Hmmmm... How about y'all suggest first and I'll think.
Posted by JenStar on April 30, 2005, at 16:08:49
In reply to Would anyone be interested in doing, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 14:29:08
Posted by annierose on April 30, 2005, at 17:22:55
In reply to Book suggestions?, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 15:02:00
I'm interested! Count me in.
Annierose
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 18:18:05
In reply to Re: Article Suggestions? » Dinah, posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 16:03:33
Do you have any in mind?
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 18:42:24
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by LadyBug on April 30, 2005, at 16:02:46
I think I might suggest a case study.
There's Yalom.
Has everyone read "Every Day Gets a Little Closer: A Twice-Told Therapy" ?
And he's got a new novel as well. We might not have read that one yet, though it is a novel.
"The Schopenhauer Cure : A Novel"
Of course, neither of those are straight case studies, and the advantage of those is that we can pause after each chapter rather than having to read the book. So one of his straight case study books like"Love's Executioner : & Other Tales of Psychotherapy"
"Momma and the Meaning of Life : Tales of Psychotherapy"
Kottler has
"The Mummy at the Dining Room Table : Eminent Therapists Reveal Their Most Unusual Cases"
He's also got some where he collects stories that may be more amusing than their authors intended.
"Bad Therapy: Master THerapists Share Their Worst Failures"
"Their Finest Hour : Master Therapists Share Their Greatest Success Stories"
Here are some other case studies I have in my library.
"The Love Bug and Other Tales of Psychotherapy"
"The Taboo Scarf and Other Tales of Therapy"
"Tales from a Traveling Couch: A Psychotherapist Revisits His Most Memorable Patients"
"The Patient Who Cured His Therapist: And Other Stories of Unconventional Therapy"
"Schopenhauer's Porcupines: Intimacy and Its Dilemmas"
"The Man With The Beautiful Voice: And More Stories from the Other Side of the Couch"
"Ariadne's Thread: Case Studies in the Therapeutic Relationship"
Obviously I like some better than others. All are grossly unfair in that I already own them. :) Does any know of ones that I've missed so I'd have to buy or borrow it too?
It might be fun to read "In Session: The Bond Between Women and Their Therapists" together too. I know we all have it about memorized, but we might get additional insights from each other.
And Alexandra's suggestion's a good one as well. Has anyone seen anything good in the way of articles?
Posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 20:18:50
In reply to Re: Article Suggestions? » alexandra_k, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 18:18:05
> Do you have any in mind?
Well, Dr Bob provided this handy link a while back:
http://psychematters.com/papers.htm
There are lots of full text articles available from there (so everyone could just download them).
Posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 20:20:38
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 18:42:24
I actually have
> "Love's Executioner : & Other Tales of Psychotherapy"
I haven't finished it yet and have to say that I wasn't all that impressed with it.
Are people more interested in case studies or at looking at theories of stuff like attachment, transference etc etc?
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 20:43:00
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » Dinah, posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 20:20:38
Gasp!!
Not impressed with Yalom!
Oh my heart!
(wink)
I always figured if he was half as good a therapist as he thinks he is, he'd be well worth having.
I'm open to other stuff as well. My library is extensive and I'm always open to learning more. I just thought that case studies would be a gentle start.
I'll look into that link. Thanks.
Posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 21:35:27
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » alexandra_k, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 20:43:00
> I always figured if he was half as good a therapist as he thinks he is...
Yeah. That was my problem ;-)
Posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 21:37:39
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » Dinah, posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 21:35:27
Uh. I suppose those articles wouldn't exactly be a gentle start... I am more fond of running into the deep end myself.
If we are reading stuff that is easier then I guess we would be sharing more what we liked about it etc.
If we are reading stuff that is a bit harder then we could try to make sense of it together and then see whether we agreed or not.
But I don't really mind either way.
Posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 22:07:03
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by alexandra_k on April 30, 2005, at 21:37:39
I wouldn't mind that either. Trying to figure out what something means.
In fact, I think I asked you if you wanted to do that on an earlier thread somewhere about something specific.
But my short term memory is shot.
So is my long term memory.
Posted by daisym on April 30, 2005, at 23:04:46
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » alexandra_k, posted by Dinah on April 30, 2005, at 22:07:03
I'm in.
How about "Necessary Losses" by Judith Viorst. I think it addresses so much of what is on this board right now. It should be available at local libraries.
I love the fact that she writes children's stories too -- "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"
Posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 9:37:08
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » Dinah, posted by daisym on April 30, 2005, at 23:04:46
And we'll count them up?
I'll abstain because I'm completely neutral. I'm always interested in learning.
Posted by fallsfall on May 1, 2005, at 9:39:31
In reply to Re: Book suggestions? » Dinah, posted by daisym on April 30, 2005, at 23:04:46
I got "The mummy at the dining room table" from the library, but I have to admit to a bit of dismay (I've only read the first 3 chapters or so). It seems like it is more focused on talking about patients who don't seem representative of the kinds of people we are. We are the normal everyday people with normal everyday problems who had (well maybe not quite) normal everyday childhoods. I guess that I see that our situations are "difficult", but not "sensational". We would not be "interesting" enough to be included in a book like that. I sort of had the same reaction to "Tales from the traveling couch" (though that one was good enough that I've read it twice).
I guess when I read case stories, I prefer to find ones that show *how* the therapist can work to break through some of the defenses that the patient has. To see how the patient can be blind to fairly obvious things, and then be able to start to see them. So I tend to prefer clinical case studies (particularly those with verbatum sessions). There was one book I found in the local University (I want to say it is "Dependency in psychotherapy; a casebook", but I would have to go to the library to see if that was the book) that had not only a facinating discussion of dependency (a subject near and dear to my heart), but also had verbatum sessions with annotations of what the therapist was doing (i.e. was it clarification, interpretation, question, challange etc.). My guess is that this particular book is not widely available, though.
I found reading through different technical case studies allowed me to see the differences between the different types of therapy (i.e. CBT vs. analysis). And reading about analysis is what made me think that I needed to go a bit deeper than my CBT was taking me.
This said, I'm not sure that it would be good for me (right now) to be reading these things. I have gotten to a place where I am analyzing my therapy less and participating more. But I think that reading about the nuts and bolts of therapy did help me to be more open and honest. So just because it might not be the best thing for me right now, doesn't mean it wouldn't be helpful for others.
The other book that I've found really helpful is "Metaphor Therapy: Using Client-Generated Metaphors in Psychotherapy". This book talks about how metaphors (particularly those used spontaneously by the patient) can be used to promote change. I have found myself using this technique myself (to my therapist's chagrin...), and it has been very useful for me. So this might be an example of a book that can show a particular technique that we could learn to use ourselves. However, there are NO copies of this title in any library in my state (I found it at a used book store). So books like this could be harder to obtain.
I definately recommend asking your library about InterLibrary Loan for books like this. Through ILL we have access to the University libraries, which have some of these more technical books.
But then again, the rest of you might not want to be technical... Which is why I didn't jump in to this thread at the beginning - I'm not sure that I speak for the masses.
Just my rambling 2 cents...
Posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 10:34:09
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by fallsfall on May 1, 2005, at 9:39:31
Or are you as unconcerned with title as I am. I hope everyone isn't as unconcerned as I am, or we'll end up like the group I used to hang out with in high school.
What do you want to do?
I dunno. What do *you* want to do?
It doesn't matter to me. What do *you* want to do?It was nice that we were all so careful of each others wishes and desires. But we spent all night wherever we met. :)
Posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 10:35:51
In reply to Your vote? » fallsfall, posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 10:34:09
And if some of us have a special interest topic we'd like to pursue, we could do that in smaller groups concurrently.
Alexandra, I'm positive there's something I'd love to do that's sort of special interest and hard to understand. But blast it if I can remember.
Posted by annierose on May 1, 2005, at 10:41:52
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by fallsfall on May 1, 2005, at 9:39:31
SInce I just ordered these books, I would like to read either "mummy/table" or "tales from the traveling couch".
Anyone else have a choice re: these two???
We can ultimately read lots and lots of selections.
Posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 10:48:06
In reply to Re: Book suggestions?, posted by fallsfall on May 1, 2005, at 9:39:31
Ooh, meant to mention. I like the case studies less because of the insights into the clients and more because of reading how the therapists think and react. I guess I find therapy fascinating from the point of view of the therapist.
Kottler's book on bad therapy is one of my favorites. He interviewed a bunch of famous therapists about the cases where they screwed up. And some of them did as he asked and gave excellent examples of bad therapy. But some of them treated it like that interview question "What is your greatest weakness?" and ended up giving examples of cases where they worked heroically against overwhelming odds yet still had a bad outcome - well, not necessrily bad. Sometimes it just took longer for a good outcome or the good outcome looked different than they expected.
It made me roll on the floor laughing.
And I knew that was a good interview question to ask a therapist. :) Because I wanted the sort who would admit they could screw up royally.
Posted by Dinah on May 1, 2005, at 10:48:49
In reply to Re: Okay, okay, I'll vote! :), posted by annierose on May 1, 2005, at 10:41:52
I'll put one vote for each?
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