Favourite Psychotherapy Books: Part 2

The Freud Reader/The Carl Rogers Reader

Favourite psychotherapy books part 2: I just love the original works by the original authors. They give such a strong flavour of who these pioneers were. And the pieces selected are chosen by experts in the author so I trust their guidance. And, for me, that is why therapy training is such a privilege, to spend some time digesting the fundamental insights that make up their body of work is to experience something important in life. Without these people, humanity would be in a lot more trouble than we are currently.

EVERY trainnee therapist needs to connect with these pioneers of therapy, to fully understand their roots and the roots of therapy. I would also recommend these authors to clients as, at the very least, they are important historical people who have really contributed something fundamental to humanity. An education on life would not be complete without connecting to them.

On Learning from the Patient

It’s just a straight-up classic and probably every therapist has eaten this book and digested it with satisfaction. It gives a wonderful picture of the unconscious and working with it in a psychodynamic way. After reading this I found it easier to measure and sit in the painful silence that can be so difficult for clients and therapists alike. But also understanding the importance of it. It teaches you how not to jump in to early or too late, allowing enough space and silence for ‘self’ in all it’s authentic nature to arise. It is about space, both for your own internal supervisor and the client’s ‘self’. It actually measures something that seems unmeasurable, a real sign of deep fundamental insight on the part of the author.

For further reading recommendations, check out

Favourite Psychotherapy Books: Part 1

Favourite Psychotherapy Books: Part 3

For reading recommendations on anxiety, check out

Anxiety recommended reading

Thomas Larkin