Beyond Technique in Family Therapy: Finding Your Therapeutic Voice [Paperback]

George Simon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0205341160 | ISBN-13: 978-0205341160 | Publication Date: October 26, 2002 | Edition: 1st

Arguing against an eclectic approach to the practice of family therapy, Professor Simon urges students and therapists to find the one model of practice that best expresses their personal worldviews and values.   In order to help therapists find their personal models, the text exposes the particular view of the human condition that underlies each of the models of family therapy. It also leads readers through several guided reflections designed to help them become more aware of their own personal views of the human situation. By the end of the text, students will have found the therapeutic model that is most closely aligned with their deeply held values and worldviews. Having found their “therapeutic voice,” students will then be able to approach practicing therapy as an exercise in genuine self-expression.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1st edition (October 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205341160
• ISBN-13: 978-0205341160
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chris lowney, February 18, 2003

By 

chris lowney (New York.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Technique in Family Therapy: Finding Your Therapeutic Voice (Paperback)

Simon has pulled off a rare feat with with his splendid book, "Beyond Technique in Family Therapy." This highly respected family therapist writes in a way that even those with little or no professional background in the field can comprehend. He's equally insightful--and equally lucid--in his fascinating presentation of key philosophical themes.
I believe that his book is aimed primarily at therapists or those still studying to enter the field, but the book will have appeal to a wide range of others: generalists who want to learn a bit more about philosophy, family therapy, and their interplay; those interested in western philosophy who want to learn how it affects this important field; those who are in (or who have been in) therapy who want to step back and reflect on the therapuetic process. An all-around triumph that deserves to find a wide audience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terrific book for family therapists, August 24, 2009

By 

Derek Truscott (Edmonton, AB Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Technique in Family Therapy: Finding Your Therapeutic Voice (Paperback)

George Simon has written a book that should be read by everyone who wants to be a good family therapist or who trains family therapists. His style is delightfully engaging without sacrificing scholarship; I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting, then went back and savored it again slowly. He argues--successfully, in my opinion--that in order to be an effective family therapist we must believe in the therapy we are providing. This might sound obvious, but look around in the literature and you'll find scant attention to it. Simon's discussion of the philosophical basis of the major systems of family therapy provides a much-needed framework for helping therapists find the approach that fits with their own personal philosophy. Perhaps even more importantly, he facilitates meaningful self-knowledge by taking the reader through thought-provoking chapters rich with challenging personal exercises.

A breath of fresh air and highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A philosophical book about family therapy, April 16, 2009

By 

Carlos J. Sanchez (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Technique in Family Therapy: Finding Your Therapeutic Voice (Paperback)

The pretender ideologists of family therapy come with strange ideas when they are not working with regular families. If you are working in private practice in Midtown Manhattan, and/or Center City Philadelphia you will see middle/upper class individual clients and couples, for the simple reason that those places are business and political districts. Their are not the proper environment if you want to be an ideologist of model that is based on low-income families and their context.

The author is a "protégé" of Salvador Minuchin the originator of Structural Family Therapy. Simon is in private practice in NYC. There are no reports of him working with low-income clients/families. Probably this explains why the content of the book is high philosophical, psychoanalytic and with little relevant for psychotherapists and those working with families. This book demonstrates that structuralism come in different shapes and forms. This book is shows "cerebral structuralism" version of the structural family therapy model. If you enjoy wandering the abstract world, this book is for you.