Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Interesting subject but the book is dull, poorly written, and might turn you off therapy. November 9, 2008
This is a collection of patient case studies by psychiatrist Yalom. It was given to me as a gift by a friend who is a great admirer of Yalom's work. I am not working in the field of therapy or counseling but as I had took a few psychology classes in college I am somewhat familiar with the some of the classic texts of psychology (Freud, Jung, Piaget, etc) and I am accustomed to reading case studies.
Yalom often describes his own feelings and reactions during therapy, something that might be helpful for a future councilor but his style is too simplistic. To follow his example and give my critic in a personal tone rather than a professional one: I was left disliking the man intensely, the idea that I could give access to my private life to this man was revolting. His patients are all viewed critically at first and then -in some extent- some manage to gain his compassion or at least his respect. In none other of the case studies the shallow notions of the psychiatrist were so evident. He describes with great detail -and snobbery- the appearance among others of an elderly depressed woman who neglects her looks, of an obese young woman for whom he feels such revolt he cannot stand looking at her, of an advanced cancer patient who has the illusion that he can attract women even his illness and chemotherapy have ruined his appearance.... When moving beneath appearances he has the same attitude towards the weaknesses of his patients. How much better the clinical detachment of traditional analysts. Yalom does not accept one method of therapy -such as Freudian, Jungian etc- which is a great idea and liberating but it seems as if it has left him open to seeing his patients as acquaintances rather than patients.
I understand that he adopts this tone in an effort to reveal all with sincerity. But I was left thinking that a better writer could do so with more tact and less callous expressions. Yalom tries to point out that therapy is a process which involves two people and wants to reveal himself as much as his patient, pity that his self is not more appealing. It is a difficult task which he sets and he is not equal to it: it takes a lot of professionalism and dignity for the psychiatrist to expose himself and still convince he is worth getting paid pounds per minute of his time.
This becomes more apparent when he attempts to present his more sophisticated and sensitive aspects where you read quotes from and references to canonic art works that have nothing to do with the subject whatsoever.
One of my professors at grad school used to say that you need to learn to write well when you are still in the beginning of your career but then once you make a name of yourself you can damp the rules and start either experimenting -if you are serious about your work- or as is so often the case just start vomiting and selling words to publishers who are only to happy to sell a badly written book if it is authored by 'a name'. I think Yalom falls in the second category, whatever professional attributes he has are not apparent in this book which is more like an unedited journal of a psychotherapist than a book about analysis. If this was written by a student it would be returned back for rewriting.
Seeing that it got good reviews by previous reviewers I guess even that will get an audience. For me it was not good enough and I am grateful to amazon for the opportunity to vent for loosing so many hours of my life.
 Fascinating stories of therapy where the psychiatrist is not God May 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having read most of Yalom's other books, I expected this to be an insightful and instructive read. And so it proved. Yalom's ten 'cases' are recounted with gentleness, caring and consideration. The author does not cast himself in the role of the psychiatrist-God who has all the answers but as a person with likes and dislikes, with successes and failures, someone whose best intentions at times backfire and who can hit the spot with some of his patients through sheer accident. He treats his patients with consideration and respect without romanticizing the despair and anxiety he faces in his work. The book offers an interesting counter-part to Freud's classic case studies, which evoked the detective story genre as the psychoanalyst seeks to put together the clues offered him/her by the patient. Here too there is suspense. But the answers come from unexpected, sometimes accidental, quarters. Yet, each and every one of these cases provides a meaningful story with a beginning, a middle and, always, a satisfying end.
What an amazing book... November 15, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I rarely read books to the end, even those I like, but this had me gripped from start to finish.
Yalom makes interactions with his patients into riveting, detective story narratives wrapped in essential human needs and the essential fears and desires at the heart of nearly all of us (he says we all fear death for example).
He takes each patient (and us as viewers) on a sort of an absolutely enthralling intellectual ramble seeking the essence of the patients pain. He manages to eek out the most interesting characteristics from these stories and his insights into them are incredible. Interspersed in the accounts are interesting digressions into the process of psychotherapy; what it is for and what it aims to do.
For someone interested in psychotherapy (someone "psychologically minded" as he says) or into the deeper meaning of all of our lives journeys, this is juicy juicy stuff.
Simply the best June 21, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a "fly on the wall" book. It lets budding counsellors and psychotherapists see what really goes on in the consulting room of one of the most important therapists of the age. I recommend this to students every year, and every year they are gripped by the stories.
An essential read for anyone interested in the inner lifes of clients therapists or themselves
Fascinating Stories March 23, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book is riveting. It's all about people who are exhibiting extreme behaviour: overeating, passionately in love with someone half your age, a man paranoid about losing face, a sleazy sex maniac and a boring accountant with lurid dreams.
Dr Yalom gets them all in his surgery and talks them through their problems. He uncovers the most amazing things, which are an inspiration, offering insights into how we all tick.
I find lots of people quite hostile or afraid of psychotherapy. I've recommended this book to them because, whatever your views on therapy, it's a gripping read.
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