Share this book Facebook. February 13, History. An edition of Letters to a young therapist This edition was published in by Basic Books in New York. Written in English. Subjects Miscellanea , Psychotherapy. Letters to a young therapist: stories of hope and healing , Basic Books. Not in Library.
Libraries near you: WorldCat. Letters to a young therapist First published in Subjects Miscellanea , Psychotherapy. Edition Notes Genre Miscellanea. Classifications Dewey Decimal Class P Community Reviews 0 Feedback? Lists containing this Book Reading. Loading Related Books. February 13, July 22, Edited by Mek. October 14, Trite was the word that kept coming to mind as I sludged through it. Sad to think that t Thank you for articulating my feelings for this book so well.
Sad to think that this book is required reading for any future therapist. The books you recommended are excellent. Sep 25, CJ rated it really liked it.
I picked this book up while browsing because when I flipped it open to scan a single page, I got caught for She had hooked me, right in the middle of the book, so it had to come home with me. And yes, I had completed all my classes, my internship, etc. It was still overwhelming to have someone walk in, sit down, and trust that I was going to be able to point them in the right direction to help them get better.
It was nice to read about someone who had done some truly valuable work with people, but who had also made some serious faux pas' and only realized it after she had erred, and who could later say "Look, this was what I did that didn't turn out right. It's refreshingly lacking the sickly sweet touchy feely we're-all-wonderful-human-beings-who-need-to-be-valued sentimentality that seems to have pervaded the watered down self help pseudo therapeutic writing of late.
Aug 23, Jessica rated it it was ok. Not everything in the book is trash. But I found it just so hokey. Like overly sentimental and contrived. I am a sensitive, emotional type of person, I can stand a metaphor or winding story or two as long as it makes sense for the overall narrative but in the case of this book it was just too much. I just thought overall the tone of the book was a bit patronizing and condescending. Found myself disagreeing with her a lot about certain things and being bored during her off-topic interludes.
Shelves: moods , newer-nonfiction. I'm picking my way through this book again, because sometimes I like to fantasize about being a therapist. I also like to stare into the photograph of Mary Pipher on the cover of the book; the love, goodwill, and sanity in that woman's face are almost enough to make you burst into tears. It's a short book, but it' I'm picking my way through this book again, because sometimes I like to fantasize about being a therapist.
It's a short book, but it's packed dense with common sense. It's kind of like plutonium that way. Plutonium for the wannabe-therapist soul. I reread or -skimmed more than half of it before bed last night. I came away with a renewed sense of how hard and, in a strange but real sense, lonely performing therapy can be.
I also gained an admiration for the therapist's willingness to become involved with people who are often at the most difficult, neediest, and least charming ends of their range. Pipher makes doing therapy sound difficult often in the sense of being tedious or unglamorous, actually but rewarding.
I still think there's something about doing it that, even in our secular-ass place and times, approaches the sacred, and I'm grateful to Mary Pipher for allowing me to explore her profession from the safety and comfort of my armchair.
Feb 04, Lindsay rated it liked it. This book was interesting. It didn't give me any new incredible insights on counseling, mostly just reinforced concepts I had already learned at the jail. It doesn't follow a storyline, so if you aren't interested in social work this book is probably not for you. It is written by a "seasoned" therapist in the form of letters to a new therapist explaining what she has learned about people and therapy over the years.
Overall, a good read but nothing incredible. While I enjoyed reading some of the anecdotes, a lot of the main lessons of the book are things I already knew from being taught or exposed to them. The book was well-written, but also seemed a bit self-fulfilling. In a sense I came out of it a little more impressed with myself for knowing more about being a therapist than I honestly thought I did Diaries of an Old er Therapist might have been a more accurate name, though they are disguised as letters to the writer's favourite graduate student.
I found that format more than a little creepy. I would be quite uncomfortable if my supervisor wrote a book of letters to me, but I'll have to assume that Laura is more of a fictional recipient, a stand-in for all the young students in the writer's imagination rather than an actual flesh and bone person. This book is a mixed bag. There is some co Diaries of an Old er Therapist might have been a more accurate name, though they are disguised as letters to the writer's favourite graduate student.
There is some concrete advice like suggesting specific questions therapists can ask clients, as well as more general thoughts on psychotherapy , all peppered with plenty of short examples from the author's own work. Then there are also musings from the author's own personal life , and there are plenty of things that seem way more like the author's own opinion on therapy rather than any kind of evidence-based facts.
If I read this book without a degree in psychology, I would definitely not come away from it believing that it is any kind of science. As for the author's opinions, there is a degree of scepticism around medication and diagnosis that I found borderline stigmatising , and that I can't imagine would feel great to read if you have personal experience with either. On top of that, the author puts a particularly great emphasis on respecting families, however, she mostly steers clear of talking about abusive families besides saying that she realises they exist.
Then she moves on to talk extensively about why basically having any family is better than no family at all, i. Despite the abrasive bits, it was still a short, easy-to-read book. The length is an indication that it does not go into anything, a topic, or a particular example, too deeply.
Instead, it does really feel like the short snippets of thoughts written by a therapist who is looking back at her career and giving an overview of her thoughts on the field. Nov 07, PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it liked it.
Phiper pens letters to a fictional new psychotherapist Laura, whom she supervises. I liked how she quoted from other theorists to show where she learned some of her approaches. This was a reread, and I found that I resonated with less of this book a few years into my work than I did in grad school.
Even so, I would hope every therapist reads this once in their life. Jul 20, Alexis rated it it was amazing. This was an amazing book. At my new job, the therapists I have shadowed tend to be very solution focused. I work mostly with pediatricians who seem to want quick fixes. For some issues, this works, but for others, it's down right silly! Mary Pipher does a wonderful job talking about the beauties of therapy, the pitfalls, and the overall process.
Reading it helped me center myself in this new role and actually helped me solidify that I really want to be doing this even though it's hard at times. Also made me desperately want to enter therapy again as a way to process my move, life, relationships, etc. I love therapy! Adding this to my amazon wishlist for Christmas.
I feel like it'll be nice to have on my bedside table and just pop open from time to time. Oh, and since it's letters to one of her supervisees, it made me think back on all the wonderful mentors, supervisors, etc that I've had over the years and our interns too.
What a neat field we work in!! Jun 01, Mary rated it did not like it Recommends it for: people who's other option is the telephone book. This book actually lands somewhere between "didn't like it" and "it was ok" for me, but - alas - goodreads doesn't allow half-stars. As I suspected when I realized this was part of a series called Art of Mentoring , they really should have left the form to Rilke.
Pipher's book is endless advice, delivered in a manner so thoroughly forgettable, you can't even remember what you were told on the last page. The anecdotes she offers from her practice as evidence of her points are almost never develop This book actually lands somewhere between "didn't like it" and "it was ok" for me, but - alas - goodreads doesn't allow half-stars.
The anecdotes she offers from her practice as evidence of her points are almost never developed beyond a single, short paragraph, so that stories that could perhaps speak for themselves if presented more fully become instead weak illustrations of points she's made in less interesting ways. Apr 19, KC rated it it was ok Shelves: More like 2. The Dear Laura thing was actually pretty awkward so I skipped those parts each chapter.
I took a few valuable things away from the book, otherwise it was underwhelming. I expected much more since the author has been a therapist for so long. May 09, Paul Baker rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction. This a lovely book that can be read by way more than therapists: in fact, it is a great recipe for solving many of life's therapeutic problems: a dash of common sense, a sprinkle of care, and a whopping dose of hope.
I highly recommend this book for everyone! Feb 16, Vee rated it it was ok. This book started off strong but as it became more and more apparent that the letters were fictional it got harder to take seriously.
I feel this book made some good points but chose to do so in a very self indulgent way. Apr 20, Courtney Smith Atkins rated it it was ok. I read this back in college and thought it was pretty sweet.
I re-read and stopped half way through thinking how lame it was. Today I give it a 2, back in the day-probably a 4. Dec 21, Becky rated it really liked it. Oct 23, Jennifer rated it liked it. I gave this book three stars, and I think it would have enjoyed it more if I had read it while I was trying to decide if I wanted to go into counseling or very early in my educational process.
I still consider myself a "young therapist" doing clinical work for just four years , but I found the book a little lacking in terms of deeper substantive issues related to therapy. This is not a research based or even theoretical book, but it is an anecdotal account of her experience as a therapist writt I gave this book three stars, and I think it would have enjoyed it more if I had read it while I was trying to decide if I wanted to go into counseling or very early in my educational process.
This is not a research based or even theoretical book, but it is an anecdotal account of her experience as a therapist written in the form of letters to a fictional student named Laura. At times, I felt like I was sitting around a kitchen table with an older, kind and wise, but sometimes quite dull, therapist telling me stories of the "good ole days". Many of these stories were quite good and I did enjoy several parts of the book, I just felt a little slow going, like a meal of finger foods when I wanted to sink my teeth in something.
This made me wonder if I would experience her in a similar way if I was a client in her therapy practice. That is hard to say, because I think most clinicians talk about therapy outside the room differently than they practice in the room.
My favorite part of the book was probably her comparison to how writing is so similar to therapy. I studied English Literature in undergrad and Clinical Social Work in graduate school, and I have often thought about how these areas are so parallel.
She says that both jobs involve "spending time in small rooms waiting for inspiration" and "at the end of the day, our backsides hurt and we are not sure if we have done anything lasting". She also writes, "writers and therapists must continually fight our awareness that we are not smart enough or skilled enough to do what we do.
Therapists constantly discover that we simply aren't capable of changing human beings. Both jobs are frustrating, demanding and fraught with emotional peril and they are they best jobs around. As William Stafford said, it's really fun if you can stand it".
This is just very well-described and very accurate to my own experience. Here are some other quotes that I enjoyed: "Families cannot be more honest with you than they are with themselves" "When you see families remember, they have solved a thousand problems without your help" "All human beings, not just poets, are metaphor generating creatures" Quoting a woman describing her husband "He is so aggressively dull.
He would be happy with anyone who liked to have sex and knew how to grill a bratwurst". I wished for a little more, but I don't regret reading it. Aug 18, Kevin rated it it was amazing.
As a teacher, it was easy to make corrolations from Pipher's advice to the For the longest time, my favorite 'adult' book was one called 'If You Want To Write. As a teacher, it was easy to make corrolations from Pipher's advice to the needs of my students and their families. This book literally had me pausing in reflection. And, if the above isn't enough of an endorsement, i'll admit that after reading the first three chapters of this library book, I jumped online to buy myself a copy.
In this age of technology and my Kindle bookshelf, I have been steering away from buying actual books Oct 14, Nhat Nguyen rated it it was amazing Shelves: psy. A must-read for those who are working in the helping profession. So profound, yet personal stories that picture the internal life and journey of becoming a therapist. Aug 09, Wendy rated it it was amazing. First of all, Laura must really be someone special to get a whole book written to her.
I've been advised I should be happy if I get the required one hour a week chat with a mentor, forget about poetic letters and advice that could become a book.
That aside, I am so on fire about this work therapy and this book is kindling. Good, simple, easy to read advice and it's written pretty too. It made me happy.
Jun 20, Diana rated it it was amazing Shelves: psychology-and-human-services. An awesome book if you work in human services at all, or even if you just like learning about people.
Mary Pipher has been doing therapy for something like 30 years, and she's seen just about everything.
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