Love's Executioner : & Other Tales of Psychotherapy

Rating:
Summary: "Unconditional Positive Regard"
Review: While I thoroughly enjoyed Yalom's book, I must say I was shocked by his almost continous anger and disgust at his patients. Carl Rogers, father of "empathic listening", states that "unconditional positive regard" in the therapeutic relationship is imperative for the healing relationship. Yalom, on the contrary, finds everything from a woman's weight, to the way a patient licks her lips, as excuses to get angry and feel disgusted at her. Luckily, he is knowleagable enough to know this is countertransferance, and deals with it. Personally, I'd rather have a less judgmental man as a therapist. The book is well written and interesting though, if you can get beyond his own personal biases.

Rating:
Summary: A look inside the therapist's head
Review: Who wouldn't want to know what the therapist is thinking? This book describes Irvin Yalom's honest reactions and insights while telling fascinating tales of emotional recovery. As the editor of) an anthology of writing about this subject (Inside Therapy, for which Dr. Yalom wrote a foreword, I find his writing as compelling as a great book of fiction yet as true as the most honest memoir.