The Essence of Psychotherapy Reinventing the Art for the New Era of Data [Paperback]

The Essence of Psychotherapy traces the common thread in all psychotherapy approaches--behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, strategic, and humanistic--and defines this essence as a set of fundamental principles and ultimate objectives that must be preserved in the face of increased standardization in the field. While today's therapist is guided by protocols and manuals, psychotherapy, in practice, remains an art. Nicholas and Janet Cummings have gathered case studies of master therapists to illustrate the essential process of successful therapy and to show that, as an art, it is both teachable and verifiable.

• Illustrated with case studies
• Analyses the techniques of six master psychotherapists in their work with difficult patients

Acknowledgments.
About the Authors.
What Are Best Practices Anyway?
Psychotherapy Is an Amalgam of All Techniques and Competencies.
The Anatomy of Psychotherapy.
Effective Psychotherapy as Focused, Intermittent Psychotherapy Throughout the Life Cycle.
Intermittent, Focused Psychotherapy Throughout the Life Cycle.
Psychotherapy's New Horizons.
New Notes on Old Masters.
A Sampling of Current Masters.
Extreme Therapy: The Power of Psychotherapy.
Epilogue.
References.
Index.

This wonderful volume, The Essence of Psychotherapy is... a thoughtful, engaging and incisive book about intermittent psychotherapy over the life cycle... a collection of interesting cases of time-sensitive therapy... I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in psychotherapy, from the newest graduate student to the most experienced clinician. --SIMON H BUDMAN, Ph.D., President, Innovative Training Systems, Inc.; Faculty, Harvard Medical School

For those psychotherapists who calc*