The Therapist as a Person

The Therapist as a Person

Index of Articles
Therapists as Patients: A National Survey of Psychologists' Experiences, Problems, and Beliefs [Professional Psychology]
This survey of psychologists found that of 84% who had been in therapy, 22% found it harmful, 61% reported clinical depression, 29% reported suicidal feelings, 4% reported attempting suicide, 26% reported being cradled by a therapist, 20% reported withholding important (mostly sexual) information, and 10% reported violations of confidentiality.

Therapists' Anger, Hate, Fear, and Sexual Feelings - National Survey of Therapist Responses, Client Characteristics, Critical Events, Formal Complaints, and Training [Professional Psychology]
Therapists reported frequencies of experiencing instances of feeling anger, hate, fear, and sexual attraction or arousal; encountering client events (e.g., client orgasm, client disrobing, client suicide, client assault on therapist or third party); and engaging in various behaviors (e.g., avoiding clients with human immunodeficiency virus, kissing clients, massaging clients, using weapons or summoning police for protection from clients), with findings differing according to therapist gender, client gender, and theoretical orientation.

National Survey of Psychologists' Sexual and Physical Abuse History and Their Evaluation of Training and Competence in These Areas [Professional Psychology]
This survey of clinical and counseling psychologists found that over two thirds of the women and one third of the men reported having experienced some form of physical or sexual abuse.

The Experience of 'Forgetting' Childhood Abuse: A National Survey of Psychologists [Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology]
Almost a quarter of this national sample of psychologists reported childhood abuse, and of those, about 40% reported a period of forgetting some or all of the abuse; major findings included (a) both sexual and nonsexual abuse were subject to periods of forgetting; (b) the most frequently reported factor related to recall was being in therapy; (c) about half of those who reported forgetting also reported corroboration of the abuse; and (d) reported forgetting was not related to gender or age of the respondent but was related to severity of the abuse.

Discussing Death With Children [U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Child Development, Children's Bureau]
Gerry Koocher, Ph.D., ABPP, discusses the developmental and other issues that arise in talking with children about death, whether the death of a parent, another relative, a friend, or even a school pet.

The Psychologist As Artist: Watercolors by Psychologist James N. Butcher
During a sabbatical, clinical and forensic psychologist Jim Butcher took up painting. This section includes 4 of his watercolors: Minnehaha Falls, Glacier Express, Bike Trail at Excelsior, and Vicksburg Courthouse.

Therapist's Guide To Making a Professional Will [American Psychological Association]
This chapter from the American Psychological Association's book, How To Survive and Thrive as a Therapist: Information, Ideas, & Resources for Psychologists, provides a step-by-step guide for preparing a professional will.

Clinical Practice Strategies Outside The Realm Of Managed Care [American Psychological Association annual meeting]
This paper by psychologist Steve Walfish presents ways to develop "a fee-for-service practice that does not take managed care clients at all so that clinical care and income will not be compromised."

Books:
What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why: Taboos That Hurt Us and Our Clients by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, Janet L. Sonne, Ph.D., and Beverly Greene, PhD., ABPP Publisher: American Psychological Association
"It is essentially a superb text about the practice of psychotherapy, with all its unexpected twists, turns, and difficulties for therapists and patients. From its excellent short courses on logical and ethical fallacies, to its astonishing variety of intensely provocative case examples with self-assessment questions, to its steamy discussions of therapists' sexual feelings, the book illuminates, in a non-threatening, conversational tone, the previously-avoided dimensions of the therapeutic endeavor. It belongs on the shelf of any therapist willing to learn or think critically about psychotherapy."Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D.Professor of PsychiatryHarvard University

How To Survive and Thrive as a Therapist: Information, Ideas, & Resources for Psychologists by Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP & Melba J. T. Vasquez, Ph.D., ABPP
Publisher: American Psychological Association
"This comprehensive practical guidebook is a must for all new and seasoned clinicians. From attorneys to ethics, from billing to possible errors in logic--it is all here. A remarkable compendium. Kudos to Pope and Vasquez!" --Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada