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In This Issue:
As I was wandering through a local arts festival this past weekend, I stumbled across an enchanting violinist under the redwoods singing in various languages. I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but as her body swayed and her face expressed various shades of joy, I thought of the statistics that are bandied that 73 percent (or 91 percent or whatever) of communication is non-verbal. I don’t know how they come up with these percentages, but I do know that so much of what we experience from others comes from beyond language. This is certainly the case in the clients we sit with, and yet so much of our training has to do with what clients say, and what we should say in return. The Hakomi Method is a body-centered approach to psychotherapy that focuses less on client’s words and more on their immediate experience. It uses mindfulness as a core component (and was developed long before it became fashionable!). In our June issue, we are pleased to publish an in-depth interview with Ron Kurtz, the originator of Hakomi. Kurtz is a master at paying attention to what is actually happening in the therapeutic moment. In this interview, he breaks down the concept of mindfulness into concrete terms, so that it becomes an understandable skill rather than a seemingly unobtainable ideal. We hope you’ll enjoy this intimate conversation. Also, we have an exclusive online excerpt from Irvin Yalom's first biography, Irvin D. Yalom on Psychotherapy and the Human Condition by Ruthellen Josselson. Yalom shares a poignant story of his first therapy case, discusses his interest in existentialism, and talks about how he has weaved this into his writing. Harry Stack Sullivan said something to the effect that psychotherapy is an enterprise between two anxious people, hopefully with the therapist being less anxious than the patient. We all have clients who trigger insecurities about our competence, especially early on in our careers (as we gain experience, we either feel more competent, or are just more accepting of our limitations). In A Crash Course in Psychotherapy: Moving through Anxiety and Self-Doubt, Charlotte Dailey recalls a therapy case early in her career that sent her anxiety off the charts. I think all therapists can relate to Dailey’s experience, and will find this to be an engaging read. And as usual, I’ve drawn a new cartoon for you to meditate upon. We are pleased to wrap up the release of the Psychotherapy with the Experts Series with two excellent DVDs: Feminist Therapy with Lenore Walker, and Reality Therapy with Robert Wubbolding. In Feminist Therapy, Walker works with a client who is in the final stages of divorce from an abusive husband. This DVD is an excellent source for learning the basics of the Feminist Therapy method, as well as for learning how to work competently with survivors of domestic abuse. In Reality Therapy, we watch Wubbolding work with a challenging client who speaks in tangents and evades his questions throughout the session—a type of client I am sure we’re all familiar with. It is impressive to watch Wubbolding reel him in during key moments. We think you’ll learn valuable lessons from watching Wubbolding work, as we did. Check out the entire Psychotherapy with the Experts Series, and our New Videos page for other great recent DVD releases. Best Wishes, Victor Yalom, PhD p.s. As always, if you have an idea for an article, or a joke for our humor section, please let me know. Check out our recently updated Guidelines for Submission. June, 2009 |
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