Customer Reviews

Practical Psychoanalysis for Therapists and Patients

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dr. Renik, psychiatrist, analyst, and long-time editor of the Psychoanalytic Quarterly, proves himself a conversational, practical (as the title says), genuine therapist, confident enough to admit uncertainty Case illustrations show his respect for patients, accurate empathy, and a willingness to improvise. Not wedded to theory, he bases success on results. All this suggests a major departure from the old Freudian style of "blank slate" analyst trying to bulldoze resistance instead of utilizing it as taught by Otto Rank Acts of Will: The Life and Work of Otto Rank (Same initials, too!) A pleasure to read, the book serves as a guide or second opinion for anyone getting or considering psychotherapy--and for psychotherapists as well.

Amazing read. Changed my view of psychodynamic therapy for much better. Enhances a deeper understanding of concepts while practically helping you conduct you psychodynamic therapy. I feel that my general interviewing style is now affected by this book and I am very happy about it.

I really enjoyed the book. It's hands down approach based on case studies. I liked the fact that i can read about someone's else issues as an example, as i found that i can relate to it much easier than to any theory without real life examples. However, i wish the author gave more insights on solutions. Solution is the key, if you read the books of these kind you are probably looking for a solution. This book gives you example how other people came to a solution and you might relate to it and figure it out, but there is no straight answer.. on the other hand, the answer is within you anyway, so it might not be something you find in any book out there.

Overall, i recommend the book highly for someone who want to explore oneself. It helped me to realize what my issue is and how i dealt with it. I am not sure i found the cure with this book, but i found the root. It's an easy read, very simple language and very good examples. If you want to find more theory on the topics, you probably want to get either other book or additional books.

Practical psychoanalysis = managed-care driven CBT/EBT. The language of the first two chapters betray the fact that Renik has stepped over to the other side.