Customer Reviews

Escape from Babel: Toward a Unifying Language for Psychotherapy Practice (Norton Professional Books)

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I am especially glad to have stumbled upon Escape From Babel sooner rather than later in my career. In a most straightforward way it cuts to the chase about what it means to be a part of effective therapy; it reminds that clients (and their experiences) are nothing less than extraordinary when given the opportunity to have a role in their therapy; and it will encourage you to look again at the role of ethics in the profession. I encourage new and experienced therapists and therapists-in-training to absorb the messages in this book. Don't spend money on all the different "latest and greatest" technique books; this is a far more valuable investment!

This excellent text for counselors, social workers and psychologists covers the rationale, value and techniques of highly effective brief therapies. It is full of interesting and useful case examples that make the challenge of brief therapy dialog easy to learn and implement. I not only use it myself, but have insisted that the entry level counselors that I supervise buy a copy and become familiar with the techniques it describes. Jonathan Williamson, MA, LPC

This book, drawing on current research findings and the authors' extensive clinical experience, reminds us that it's not the hottest new techniques or the therapist's theoretical orientation that makes for effective therapy. When satisfied clients are asked what made the the difference, their most frequent answer is a meaningful encounter with a caring, responsive human being whom the client felt understood his concerns and validated his strengths and resources. Many of us in the helping professsions seem to need this reminder. Phillip Ziegler, co-author of Recreating Partnership: A Solution-Oriented, Collaborative Approach to Couples Therapy.

Its been some years since I first read Escape from Babel, although I still tell people it is one of my favorite books describing what many now call the third wave of counseling. This is a book for counselors and therapists. Miller et. al. do this fabulous job of explaining how the idea of counseling has evolved from a deficit-based, modern operation to a client-centered, constructivist, outcome-oriented operation. The big difference: we as therapists are no longer in the driver's seat! It is the clients who are in charge of their own change! These guys show the research, write confidently and informedly, and they bring us along through their story to an end that leaves us motivated to change our practice. And, we shouldn't forget that this book has a companion book that reports on client stories that illustrate this books ideas. Overall, this is necessary reading for anyone who studies the evolution of change work. JN

This book, drawing on current research findings and the authors' extensive clinical experience, reminds us that it's not the hottest new techniques or the therapist's theoretical orientation that makes for effective therapy. When satisfied clients are asked what made the the difference, their most frequent answer is a meaningful encounter with a caring, responsive human being whom the client felt understood his concerns and validated his strengths and resources. Many of us in the helping professsions seem to need this reminder.
Phillip Ziegler, co-author of Recreating Partnership: A Solution-Oriented, Collaborative Approach to Couples Therapy.

I had to buy and read this book as part of my counseling program. The book was really a waste of time. The authors basically slammed all theoretical orientations with the exception of their own, which is Solution Focused. They talk about how the relationship is the most important element of the counseling relationship, yet they really don't expand on how one would facilitate a "good" relationship. Don't buy or read this book unless you absolutely HAVE TO.