A fabulous book I would recommend to any aspiring or current therapist. Irvin Yalom writes concise and easy-to-read chapters that span several pertinent psychological topics, such as how to exude empathy and when to self-disclose. He hits on unique subjects like the relationship between sex and therapy, as well as the role of research in a therapeutic setting. His advice to focus on the present and to engage with clients in a way that transcends typical boundaries shows his expertise and insight to the field of therapy, and his use of case studies keeps The Gift of Therapy an inviting and intriguing read.

We worked hard for many months to identify all these obstacles to her loving another man. For months we wrestled with each irrational obstacle in turn. But once that was done, the patient's internal processes took over: she met a man, she fell in love, she married again. I didn't have to teach her to search, to give, to cherish, to love. I wouldn't have known how to do that. For both the professional and the lay reader....In 85 short chapters, [Yalom] presents little pearls of ideas shaped from 35 years in practice....Yalom’s latest is essential.”— Library Journal Existentialism is a philosophical study of the human being as a thinking, acting, feeling, and living being in search of authentic existence; (to understand this even better, we warmly suggest you read our summaries of Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and Carl Rogers’ On Becoming a Person) When I started this book I was working on my master's and absolute loved the book and all the helpful advice that is given by Yalom. It took me a while to finish it and now I'm working in the field and I'm a little more cynical of the book. While I definitely think there are some universal lessons that apply to all counselors no matter where you're working there were a lot that I don't think apply to a beginning counselor. Most beginner counselors are not working in a private practice and their clients are facing real problems like where to get their next meal or how not to lose their children. Some of the examples in the book were almost laugable. For example, one client is stressed about which woman to take on his Aruba vacation. That's hard for me to relate to when my clients are scared they'll never see their parents again.I admired especially the humanity and humility which shine through this book....I would recommend this book to anyone but especially to those open to learning with the heart as well as the head.”— E. Thomas Dowd, The Counseling Psychology Quarterly

An economically driven health-care system,” he writes, “mandates a radical modification in psychological treatment, and psychotherapy is now obliged to be streamlined – that is, above all, inexpensive and, perforce, brief, superficial, and insubstantial.”You’re free to make a decision, but that usually means not making some other decision which means that you’re willingly cutting yourself off from other possibilities. Described by Yalom as both “a sequence of tips for therapists,” and “a nuts-and-bolts collection of favorite interventions or statements,” The Gift of Therapy is “long on technique and short on theory.”

There are three realms of self-disclosure: a) the mechanism of therapy: be transparent; b) revealing here-and-now-feelings: use discretion; and c) revealing the therapist’s own personal life: use caution; Life as a therapist is a life of service in which we daily transcend our personal wishes and turn our gaze toward the needs and growth of the other. We take pleasure not only in the growth of our patient but also in the ripple effect—the salutary influence our patients have upon those whom they touch in life.” Decision is another boundary experience (like death). Making a decision cuts us off from other possibilities.Decision leads to finiteness and groundlessness – domains soaked with anxiety. Now that you have understood the theoretical definition of existential therapy, it’s time that you understand a bit better how it works in practice.Many books, my own included, consist of a limited number of substantive points and then considerable filler to connect the points in a graceful manner. Because I have selected a large number of suggestions, many free-standing, and omitted much filler and transitions, the text will have an episodic, lurching quality. But now, reconsidering the story, I question whether these two wounded healers could not have been of even more service to one another. Perhaps they missed the opportunity for something deeper, more authentic, more powerfully mutative. Perhaps the real therapy occurred at the deathbed scene, when they moved into honesty with the revelation that they were fellow travelers, both simply human, all too human. The twenty years of secrecy, helpful as they were, may have obstructed and prevented a more profound kind of help. What might have happened if Dion's deathbed confession had occurred twenty years earlier, if healer and seeker had joined together in facing the questions that have no answers?