Learning from the Patient [Hardcover]

Patrick Casement (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898625599 | ISBN-13: 978-0898625592 | Publication Date: November 30, 1990

Throughout Europe, Patrick Casement's work on the interactional aspects of the therapeutic process is well known and highly acclaimed. In Casement's lucid treatise, LEARNING FROM THE PATIENT, everything in psychoanalytic theory and technique is up for questioning and for careful testing in the clinical setting; every concept used is explained and illustrated with clinical examples. The author offers an unusual openness about what really happens in the consulting room, including mistakes his own as well as others'. The patient's unconscious contribution to analytic work is fully illustrated. As a result of this approach, insight is arrived at with a rare freshness as theory is rediscovered in the consulting room.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Casement's book is masterly in his entirely convincing account of the complexity of unconscious communications that occur between patient and therapist....If I was asked to recommend one book on technique for the beginning therapist, I would recommend Learning from the Patient....It is the best book available." --Arnold H. Modell in Psychoanalytic Psychology

"This is a remarkable and unusual addition to psychoanalytic literature, and a book form which any analyst, however experienced, is sure to learn something new and valuable. The future of psychoanalysis lies along the path that Casement is pointing out in this sensitive, excellent book." --Anthony Storr, F.R.C.P., F.R.C.Psych., F.R.S.L.

"This is a landmark book, one of the outstanding contributions to the psychoanalytic literature in recent years. With his remarkable sensitivity to the subtle manifestations of the interactions taking place in the analytic hour and his awareness of the impact of patient and analyst on each other, Patrick Casement has demonstrated how a gifted analyst can make use of the her-and-now transactions to explore the rich tapestry of thoughts, fantasies, and memories that lie behind them. This book can serve as a teaching text for all therapists who are interested in learning from a master clinician...."--Theodore J. Jacobs, M.D.

"Casement believes that the power of the therapist lies in learning how to help a patient experience himself through the therapeutic prism and he describes this by his own clinical work with a direct openness, a disciplined compassion, and a refreshing modesty that is intrinsically elegant....A valuable psychoanalytic offering.' --Rosalyn Benitez-Bloch, D.S.W.

"Few analysts convey better than Casement the actual feeling of work in the consulting room. His non-dogmatic but rigorous attention to the total communication of the patient represents what is best and most convincing about modern psychoanalysis. His book will be of particular value to trainees in the psychodynamic professions, but will also be refreshing to more experienced practitioners." --David Black, Lecturer, Westminster Pastoral Foundation, London, British Journal of Psychiatry

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Patrick Casement is a training analyst of the British Psycho-Analytical Society. Having graduated in theology and anthropology at Cambridge, he worked for ten years as a social worker and qualified with the British Association of Psychotherapists before training to become a psychoanalyst. He is currently in full-time private practice. His first book, which comprises Part I of this volume, is well known throughout Europe and has achieved the status of a modern classic.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 386 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press (November 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898625599
• ISBN-13: 978-0898625592
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #793,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pas de Deux, September 3, 2001

By 

Susan G. Dunn "The EQ Coach" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning from the Patient (Paperback)

In the "pas de deux", the dance between the therapist and the patient, so much goes on it's nearly impossible to get a grip on it all and Casement does a beautiful job of describing this. So much of what he "knows" he knows in retrospect, but such is the stuff of case histories. Meanwhile, when you're together, the dance goes on! What I liked especially about this book is that he makes an attempt to be humble in the presence of his patients; an attempt anyway. If you've ever been in the helping professions, and can get your ego out of the way, that's just the way it is. You get your degree, you read and read, you have your own analysis or whatever, but what comes up in the therapy room never seems to have been covered in the text books. So you learn-as-you-go. His carefully delineated case histories take you step-by-step through the complicated process, and you will learn a lot from this book -- if nothing else you can take heart that it's a very complicated "dance" indeed. You can be taught the steps, but putting it together with your "partner" will be yours alone!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 100-word book review, March 14, 2006

By 

A. J. Cull (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning from the Patient (Paperback)

Patrick Casement's honesty in writing this book is an inspiration to those of us aiming to be counsellors. Not many therapists would reveal and discuss their own mistakes and oversights so openly, with a view to helping others learn from them. Casement promotes active listening skills and use of the "internal supervisor" to gain awareness both of the client's and one's own internal processes. Also key to his approach is a willingness to embrace uncertainty and not to make snap judgements, in effect to make use of what the poet John Keats called "negative capability." I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, September 6, 2008

By 

Jeffrey Fait (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning from the Patient (Paperback)

I am a staff psychiatrist at an academic institution and I purchased this book for use in psychotherapy supervision with psychiatry residents. I am finding it is a great read for residents at all levels; practical for PGY-II's and helps III's and IV's take their therapy to a deeper level. Definitely recommended!