Clinical Pearls of Wisdom: 21 Leading Therapists Offer Their Key Insights

by Michael Kerman

Overview

Often when you attend conferences you overhear people telling their colleagues about the most exciting workshops they have attended. Even if it was a day-long workshop, people seem to be able to summarize the best nuggets of information they picked up.

Here, for your reading and clinical pleasure, is a book that contains just these clinical “pearls” of wisdom, from the field’s leading practitioners.

Represented in this collection is the “take-away” message from some of the most popular conference presenters active in the field today. It covers a rich range of perspectives on the most common presenting problems: depression, trauma, anxiety, grief, couples issues, and child and adolescent difficulties. Each entry follows a similar 3-part format. First is the pearls, a brief listing of three clinical pearls based on feedback the author has received over the years from colleagues, students, book reviewers, and workshop participants. Next is the case example, a presentation of a case that best exemplifies the “pearls” in action. This section also includes an analysis by the author—why they did what they did and what they thought about it then, and now. Finally, each author provides a series of concluding remarks about the preceding material and offers readers a sense of their thinking behind their clinical work, and how this approach might be integrated into other people’s client work. These innovative practices and tools will enlarge your therapeutic repertoire, and complement your existing knowledge base.

Contributors:

Pat Ogden, Bill O’Hanlon, and Michael Stone on depression

Dusty Miller, Diana Fosha, and Babette Rothschild on trauma

Reid Wilson and Margaret Wehrenberg on anxiety

Kenneth Doka, Robert Neimeyer, and Sameet Kumar on grief

Sue Johnson, Carolyn Daitch, and Evan Imber-Black on working with couples

Dan Hughes, Lenore Terr, and Aureen Wagner on working with children

Janet Edgette, Martha Straus, and David Wexler on working with adolescents

David Wallin on the therapist’s attachment patterns

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393705874
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/07/2009
Series:	Norton Professional Books (Paperback)
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Michael Kerman, MSW, founded Toronto’s Leading Edge Seminars, which offer professional development programs for psychotherapists. He lives in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Introduction Michael Kerman vii

Acknowledgments xi

Section 1 Depression

Chapter 1 Modulation, Mindfulness, and Movement in the Treatment of Trauma-Related Depression Pat Ogden 1

Chapter 2 Escape from Depresso-Land Bill O'Hanlon 14

Chapter 3 Depression Blues: Three Pearls of Wisdom for Turning Toward Depression Michael Stone 22

Section 2 Trauma

Chapter 4 Working with Entrenched Reactive Symptoms Following Traumatic Experience Dusty Miller 35

Chapter 5 Healing Attachment Trauma with Attachment (... and then some!) Diana Fosha 43

Chapter 6 Pearls from the Early Days of PTSD Studies Babette Rothschild 57

Section 3 Anxiety

Chapter 7 The Art of Persuasion in Anxiety Treatment Reid Wilson 69

Chapter 8 Tools for Treating Anxiety: Optimizing the Chances for Success Margaret Wehrenberg 79

Section 4 Grief

Chapter 9 Grief, Illness, and Loss Kenneth J. Doka 93

Chapter 10 Reconstructing Life Out of Loss: Reorganizing the Continuing Bond Robert A. Neimeyer 104

Chapter 11 Ascending the Spiral Staircase of Grief Sameet Kumar 118

Section 5 Couples

Chapter 12 Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: It's All About Emotion and Connection Sue Johnson 133

Chapter 13 Dialing Down Distress: Affect Regulation in Intimate Relationships Carolyn Daitch 144

Chapter 14 Respectful Curiosity, Collaborative Ritual-Making, Speaking the Unspeakable: A Multi-Conceptual Therapy of Love and Loss Evan Imber-Black 155

Section 6 Children

Chapter 15 Attachment-Focused Treatment for Children Dan Hughes 169

Chapter 16 Traumatized, Terrorized, and Frightened Children Lenore C Terr 182

Chapter 17 Riding Up and Down the Worry Hill: Engaging Children in OCDTreatment Aureen Wagner 192

Section 7 Adolescents

Chapter 18 Avoiding the Trap of Trying Too Hard: Appreciating the Influence of Natural Law in Adolescent Therapy Janet Sasson Edgette 207

Chapter 19 Secure Love: Working with Adolescents and Families Martha B. Straus 219

Chapter 20 Repairing Broken Mirrors: Working with Adolescents Through the Parents David B. Wexler 232

Section 8 Conclusion

Chapter 21 From the Inside Out: The Therapist's Attachment Patterns as Sources of Insight and Impasse David Wallin 245

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

"[A] valuable book, offering useful, sometimes inspirational, ideas…"

Human Givens Journal

"I recommend this book, especially for general therapists or those wishing to compare and contrast techniques for common problems…. The uniform structure of the chapters lends a helpful tool in grasping key points and learning to apply them."

The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter

"Oh the joy of a book you can just dip into in those spare segments of time!...[L]ively style and clear structure…fascinating and educative…"

Therapy Today

"[A] treasure chest of time-tested concepts….I was particularly impressed by the collection of contributing experts….Even though I must strongly recommend Clinical Pearls of Wisdom to mental health clinicians, it is also a book that would be appreciated by others in the healing profession. Indeed, there is a lot that anyone can learn from how these therapists manage helping relationships with their clients."

International Hypnosis Research Institute - Tim Brunson

"[A]n entertaining read for therapists interested in keeping up to date on what their colleagues in the field are doing, or perhaps looking for inspiration for a fresh approach in their own practice."

USABP Newsletter

[A] treasure chest of time-tested concepts....I was particularly impressed by the collection of contributing experts....Even though I must strongly recommend Clinical Pearls of Wisdom to mental health clinicians, it is also a book that would be appreciated by others in the healing profession. Indeed, there is a lot that anyone can learn from how these therapists manage helping relationships with their clients.--Tim Brunson, PhD "International Hypnosis Research Institute"

[A] valuable book, offering useful, sometimes inspirational, ideas...-- "Human Givens Journal"

[A]n entertaining read for therapists interested in keeping up to date on what their colleagues in the field are doing, or perhaps looking for inspiration for a fresh approach in their own practice.-- "USABP Newsletter"

I recommend this book, especially for general therapists or those wishing to compare and contrast techniques for common problems.... The uniform structure of the chapters lends a helpful tool in grasping key points and learning to apply them.-- "The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter"

Oh the joy of a book you can just dip into in those spare segments of time!...[L]ively style and clear structure...fascinating and educative...-- "Therapy Today"

From the Publisher