Mastering the Inner Skills of Psychotherapy: A Deliberate Practice Manual

by Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD

Overview

Do you ever find that you are less effective with clients who are provocative, angry, shut down, or emotionally labile? Would you like to be more effective helping clients with challenging problems, including trauma, addictions, and comorbid conditions?

Clients can arouse strong emotional reactions in therapists, often termed experiential avoidance or countertransference. Therapists must build their psychological capacity to stay self-aware, attuned, and clinically flexible while having strong reactions. This manual provides clear and practical deliberate practice exercises to help you master these inner skills so you can be a more effective therapist and enjoy your work more. It features a training plan that

• Is based on the principles of deliberate practice
• Works with all major models of psychotherapy
• Aids all levels of therapist development
• Helps therapists be more effective with their most challenging clients
• Protects the boundaries and privacy of trainees

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781732565708
Publisher:	Gold Lantern Books
Publication date:	01/01/2019
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is a faculty member at the University of Washington. He is a researcher with a focus on clinical training and supervision, deliberate practice, and supervision technology. Dr. Rousmaniere provides workshops, webinars, advanced clinical training, and supervision to therapists around the world. He also provides free clinical training resources through the website dpfortherapists.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Rodney Goodyear, PhD v

Foreword Alexandre Vaz, MA vii

Part I The Training Plan 1

Chapter 1 Introduction 3

Chapter 2 A Case Example 15

Chapter 3 Psychological Capacity 23

Chapter 4 Stimuli for Deliberate Practice 29

Chapter 5 Principles of Training 37

Chapter 6 Training Safely 43

Part II Deliberate Practice Exercises 49

Exercise 1 Observe Your Reactions to Uncomfortable Psychological Stimuli 51

Exercise 2 Develop More Precise Control of Your Attention 59

Exercise 3 Practice Observing Your Reactions While Engaging the Client 65

Part III Advanced Deliberate Practice Exercises 71

Exercise 4 Practice Psychological Self-Recovery 73

Exercise 5 Use Interval Training to Build Your Psychological Capacity for Specific Stimuli 79

Exercise 6 Customize Your Deliberate Practice 85

Part IV Training Strategy 93

Chapter 7 Track Your Progress 95

Chapter 8 Common Challenges and Solutions 101

Chapter 9 Personal Development for Therapists 109

Chapter 10 Looking Forward 119

Part V Resources 123

Appendix A Deliberate Practice Exercise Form 125

Appendix B Customizing Deliberate Practice Exercise Form 127

Appendix C Sample Videos 129

References 131

Acknowledgments 135

Index 137

About the Author 141