Discovering and taming the unconscious
Part one. Getting through your first sessions
1. What have I gotten myself into?
Giving yourself permission to not know
Desperately seeking systems
2. Getting centered and learning to listen
Take time to get centered
Communication styles in psychotherapy
Psychotherapy in a nutshell
Don't panic in the face of the pathology
Don't try to reason with an irrational person
Don't forget a client's strengths
Cultural and religious assumptions
No one is an expert on culture
Part two. Getting to know your clients
6. Challenges and strategies
The good-enough therapist
The projective hypothesis
Silence as a background for communication
7. The therapist's feelings : anticipated and unanticipated
"Hey, that was my insight!"
8. It's scary to go to therapy : the paradox of client resistance
Meeting resistance with acceptance
Dealing with cancellations
Discussing and collecting fees
9. In the eye of the storm : the therapist's challenge
Shuttling between yourself and your client
Shuttling between mind and body
Learning from distraction, boredom, and fatigue
On being tied to the mast
Talking less and saying more
Paying attention to dreams
10. Turning weaknesses into strengths
Taking sides and neutrality
Knowing your stimulus value
Part three. Getting to know yourself
11. Uncovering countertransference
Manifestations and underlying issues
An exercise in uncovering countertransference
"Things were just perfect"
12. The making of a caretaker
The therapist's childhood in the consulting room
Shame-based experience and behavior
13. Building a satisfying and sane career : cautions and encouragement
Principle one : know your limits and select your clients
Principle two : engage in consistent self-care
Principle three : keep perspective
Principle four : watch out for trauma contagion
Principle five : know your laws and ethics
What they don't teach you in school
What therapeutic orientation should you choose?
