Beyond Technique in Solution Focused Therapy – working with emotions and the therapeutic relationship Leo and Alice have moved into a newly renovated house in an exclusive gated community outside of London known as The Circle. Alice finds it odd that when she overhears a few of her female neighbors talking about them, one insists that there is no reason why she would ever want to meet the new couple. What could it be about Leo and Alice that would bring about such a comment? She learns about Nina, the therapist who lived in the same house two years ago and starts developing a weird sort of connection with her. As she tries to uncover the mysteries of the past, others try to bury them even deeper.

Alice and Leo move into a new house that’s just been redone. The home is located in an exclusive gated community. Fancy schmancy. Alice begins to settle in until she learns her home has a secret involving a therapist who previously lived there named Nina. Alice becomes obsessed with what happened and trying to unearth the whole story, but her neighbors are not talking. BookAuthority. (n.d.) 29 Best psychotherapy audiobooks of all time. Retrieved from https://bookauthority.org/books/best-psychotherapy-audiobooks Trauma-informed therapists are highly regarded when it comes to child psychotherapy. Being trauma-informed involves knowledge about health and safety, confidentiality, the rights of clients and family, self-regulation, and work ethics. Siegel, D. J. (2015). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.Wow,” I say, smiling. “I wouldn’t even know what to say to that.” I open a bag of crisps, tip the contents into a bowl, rescue a couple that spill over the edge. The scent of truffle, artificial, catches my nose. “I’ll join you as soon as everyone has arrived, I promise. Someone needs to be here to answer the door.” Alice has an odd feeling about the house right from the beginning. It’s a tight-knit gated community and Alice is determined to win over all the neighbors. The threat of the menace just completely fizzles by the end. I also didn’t love how the women were portrayed. They were either super maternal or absolute evil. I kind of felt like I was reading a harlequin novel by the end with the marriage and baby stuff. Johnson, S. (2008). Hold me tight: Seven conversations for a lifetime of love. Little, Brown Spark.

I enjoyed exploring therapy from the point of view of both the patients and the therapists. Observing and reflecting on the toll it takes to be vulnerable, to share your true self with a professional, and to consider the inner lives of those who guide us through our challenges was fascinating. This is followed by the reappearance of a strange visitor who showed up at the party, who now reveals himself to be Thomas Grainger, a private investigator working on behalf of Oliver’s dying sister, who still wants to prove his innocence. They are sure that Oliver was set up and believe that the real killer must be one of Alice and Leo’s strange, close-knit neighbors or even Nina’s therapist. Alice is no stranger to therapy herself as she has never gotten over the deaths of her parents and sister, who were killed in a car accident when she was younger.Geldard, K., Geldard, D., & Foo, R. Y. (2017). Counselling children: A practical introduction (5th ed.). Sage. Most mental health professionals agree that the process of therapy itself is rewarding and a great learning experience for them. I give him a smile. He’s right, and anyway, I need to shake off my preconceptions about living in London. I go through to the hall, but before I can unlatch the door, there’s a ring on the bell. “I’ll be out in a minute!” I call over my shoulder to Leo. “I’ll just get this.” Recommend to those who like a little escape, along for the ride without minding the over the top disbelief factor! Worse yet, Leo knew about the murder and bought the house anyway, without informing Alice of the tragedy.

The book introduces human relationships to be as strong as the nature and nurture concepts that therapists have been following for years now. Siegel uses scientific evidence and real-life examples to add more substance to his findings. So - without informing Leo - Alice uses a group text to invite the circle residents to a drinks party. Leo is a bit put out, but helps with the preparations for the gathering.

In all honesty, I struggled to keep my eyes open for most of it. Follow Alice's routine as she spends the first 70% going to the park, meeting and socialising with neighbours, chatting with old friends, discussing living arrangements, and even more mundane – working, eating, and sleeping. The Therapist is 90% domestic drama, 10% mystery/suspense. There's little development to the thriller plot in the first three quarters of the novel and what there is, was rehashed endlessly, with multiple conversations repeating the same information. While I did predict some of the twists, others did catch me off guard and I found myself questioning many of the characters just as much as Alice! Proof positive that speculation can abound here and this has all of the earmarks of a classic whodunit, as well as the eerie atmosphere of a domestic suspense in line with authors like Shari Lapena. This isn't the world's most twisted plot, and it did take a while to reach the end after a frenetic start, but I felt satisfied by the time I finished reading (although perhaps I was just happy to not have to listen to Alice speculate anymore!)

It is the other characters in the neighborhood, whose roles are limited but exciting. They add the necessary drama to the story. Nina, even in her absence is an interesting character, although we never really learn much about her. Her ultimate goal? "To serve a nation through literature." 🇮🇳 With a passion for Indian literature, she's on a mission to ignite the reading spark in both kids and grown-ups alike. 🔥 Thirtysomething Alice and her boyfriend Leo have recently moved in together, taking up residence in a gated London circle that contains 12 homes. Forsyth, J. P., & Eifert, G. H. (2016). Mindfulness and acceptance workbook for anxiety: A guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias, and worry using acceptance and commitment therapy. New Harbinger. Leo travels a lot for work, which means that Alice is left in their creepy house all by herself with nothing to do but to try to continue her work as a book translator and befriend a few of the neighbors. She also shows an unhealthy obsession with learning more about Nina and Oliver, and comes dangerously close to playing amateur sleuth. To make matters much more complicated, she uncovers some potentially disturbing information about Leo, and she is determined to leave The Circle. However, doing so will be easier said than done.Okay! This one is not my favorite work of the author! It’s good! Above the average! But not freaking marvelous like her other books! Alice doesn't believe the official story that Nina's husband was the killer. She can't explain why, she just knows that isn't right. I also disliked that she seemed oblivious to the things going on around her and at times unwittingly stumbled into situations that exposed her to danger. Not my favourite type of character and most women I know are very observant and have more tact if they need to ‘investigate’ something.😊 The concept of a gated community brimming with secrets immediately arouses interest. The circle of ladies snooping around, keeping secrets, both forming and faking friendships reminds one of the television series Desperate Housewives.