Listening to the Melody of the Mind
The Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
By (author) Rima Brauer, Gerald Faris
Publication date:
17 October 2008Length of book:
170 pagesPublisher
Jason Aronson, Inc.Dimensions:
238x166mm7x9"
ISBN-13: 9780765706133
Psychotherapy has been described humorously as the art of practicing a science which doesn't exist. Brauer and Faris submit that the practice of psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on both art and science and should be conducted only by those who are properly trained with sufficient experience and steeped in the empirical literature based on solid research. Insightful and well-trained therapists should, therefore, draw heavily from the scientific disciplines of child development, medical science, biology, neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. To tap into the great body of research in such areas means the well-read psychotherapist must be able to assimilate contributions from a rather broad array of specialties. This is a daunting task and is not for the intellectually faint of heart. Listening to the Melody of the Mind attempts to provide a comprehensive exploration of the person who is the therapist.
This book is not organized as a textbook, nor does it constitute a systematic course. But it does serve as a handbook that will guide the beginning psychotherapist with a firm hand and well-grounded footing. It treats the subject of becoming and being a psychotherapist with a down-to-earth pragmatism that will be of enormous help to those who are considering such a career, either for the first time or as a career change. For the senior clinician, reading this volume will act as a gratifying reminder of difficult battles won and lost in the career of professional psychotherapy. Brauer and Faris provide an antidote to the contemporary literature that is weighted more toward the evocative and process-oriented aspects of the work, a perspective which is much more difficult for the beginner to grasp and integrate. The authors thus illustrate the practical value of an approach that is denotative, specific, and concrete.