The Impossibility of Sex: Stories of the Intimate Relationship between Therapist and Patient [Paperback]

Susie Orbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 2002

The conventional view of a patient in therapy has been that of someone who forms a powerful, erotic bond with the therapist. On the other hand, the view of the therapist has been that of a neutral listener, emotionally unaffected by the patient. But what really does go on within the sacrosanct space of the therapist's office?

Distinguished psychotherapist Susie Orbach provides the answers as she presents six stories of patients, all of whom suffer from such common afflictions as depression, loneliness, compulsive eating, consuming sexual desires, and fear of attachment. In each story, Orbach reveals not just the client's problems, but -- with startling honesty -- the effect the client has on her as therapist.

The Impossibility of Sex breaks new ground by taking us into the center of the therapy relationship, one usually shrouded by therapist-client confidentiality. From the unlikely role the therapist plays in the troubled relationship of two lesbians to the unsettling dreams the therapist experiences while treating a man consumed by sexual desire, Orbach illuminates the complex human interactions at the heart of the therapeutic process and the "joint discoveries" that contribute to its effectiveness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those who have ever surrendered themselves on an analyst's couch, or considered doing so, will want to read this vibrant book about therapy from the therapist's perspective. A seasoned analyst who was recently revealed to have counseled the late Princess Diana, Orbach (author of the '70s classic Fat Is a Feminist Issue) reveals what happens during therapy from the therapist's point of view with honesty, dashes of wit and a refreshing lack of sensationalism. Those who suspect that therapists sleep through their sessions will be gratified to find out how involving some find their patients. Orbach's examples (based on composites of patients she's seen over the years) fascinate but never read like case studies: Belle is a compulsive liar who moves from crisis to crisis; Joanna's distress threatens Orbach's sense of self by touching her deepest emotions; Carol and Maria are an interracial lesbian couple whose marriage counseling provokes Orbach to consider the role of trust and sex in relationships; Adam, an erstwhile Lothario, almost lures Orbach into his sexual web before she is able to help him relinquish his own libidinousness in favor of deep passion. Orbach elucidates the analytic process with verve, grace and erudition, invoking Freud and a host of other psychoanalysts while unveiling her own feelings about life, love, sex, passion and, of course, the therapeutic process. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Therapist Orbach (Fat Is a Feminist Issue) explains that the point of this misleadingly titled book is to convey "the feel of the relationship developed between the therapist and patient." Using six therapy case histories based on her real-life clients, she investigates their problems (some of them sexual)--which, from a voyeuristic perspective, is fun--and her own reactions, which are somewhat narcissistic and distracting. In the midst of the case histories, she also discusses psychoanalysis. Two different typefaces are used to distinguish the case histories from the digressions on psychoanalysis, and a third would have been helpful to offset Orbach's reactions. The concluding discussion of the female psyche is interesting but seems tacked on. Although somewhat confusing in execution, this bizarre little book is recommended for academic and public libraries, as the publisher notes that Orbach was Princess Diana's therapist.
-Margaret Cardwell, Georgia Perimeter Coll., Clarkston
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684864274
• ISBN-13: 978-0684864273
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,008,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Insight into the Client/Therapist Relationship, March 25, 2000

By 

Pam Kanopkin (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Impossibility of Sex: Stories of the Intimate Relationship Between Therapist and Patient (Hardcover)

Once again the author of the much heralded "Fat is a Feminist Issue" and the insightful "Hunger Strike", has managed to break new ground with her latest book "The Impossibility of Sex." Susie Orbach manages to write in a manner that is easily comprehended by both the professional analyst or therapist and the client, the consumer of therapy. She provides an invaluable glimpse into the mind of the therapist. For anyone who has ever been part of the therapuetic process, this book answers some of the queries that the client may have about what the therapist if really thinking. In traditional or Freudian therapy, the analyst's role was something of a blank screen onto which the patient would project his or her thoughts,dreams, and feelings. Susie Orbach, however, suggests to us that the therapist/client relationship has a powerful impact and is significant in the life of the therapist as well as the client. She also addresses the issues of countertransference, which is an issue that some therapists and clinicians may feel should be confined to professional journals. What Susie Orbach has done in effect, is to make the therapist more human and less mystical, which can only serve to enhance the trust that should be inherent in the therapuetic process. Though there is unspoken power differential in the client/therapist relationship, Susie Orbach succeeds in making it a more egalitarian one,without sacrificing it's innate value to both client and therapist.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fiction vs Fact, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Impossibility of Sex: Stories of the Intimate Relationship Between Therapist and Patient (Hardcover)

Orbach's accounts are indeed fictional, and this is not made clear in the jacket copy. The stories, however are well written and interesting, and probably good approximations of the thoughts, words and feeling inside a therapy session. Many therapists have written fascinating and instructive accounts of their patients' case histories but have simply gotten permission to change the names and perhaps a few telling facts so that they are still a true refleciton of that case. For a good collection of fiction and non-fiction that illustrates the patient-therapist relationship, read Inside Therapy: Illuminating writings about patients, therapists and psychotherapy.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Book, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Impossibility of Sex: Stories of the Intimate Relationship Between Therapist and Patient (Hardcover)

The Impossibility of Sex was outstanding. Orbach has written a book that is at once instructional for therapists and their clients and interesting to the reader as though it were a novel. It is rich with description and insight that almost makes you wish Orbach's main line of work were as a writer of fiction. I say 'almost' because this book makes it obvious that she has found her true line of work, therapy and clinical research. One can only hope that there are many more therapists out there like her, for although she makes it clear that these exchanges in the book did not actually occur in her office, the reader has to know that this is a therapist who has a seemingly endless wealth of knowledge of her field, empathy for her patients, and a willingness to stay open to all possibilities in the therapeutic setting.

Although the seven 'case histories' are fictitious, they come across as real. The psychological profiles are surrounded with life details of that make it nearly impossible to accept that these are not actual people.

Orbach's book is laced with clinical explanations and theories for various occurences in thse case histories that are easy to understand for the lay person. For anyone in therapy or considering it, this would be a great book to read; the personal insights you would gain alone make it worthwhile. The psychotherapeutic community is well-served by the publication of this book. It is a fully researched call for therapists to open the dialogue about their changing roles in analysist-analysand relationship. While it is likely that this will be a controversial book in some therapeutic circles, the questions posed by Orbach deserve serious consideration.