The Gossamer Thread

A memoir of the author's professional life as a psychologist and psychotherapist. It shows his progression from a hard-nosed behaviour therapist with a strong commitment to science to a psychodynamic therapist with an interest in narrative. It also shows the way the main schools of psychotherapy (behavioural, cognitive, and psychodynamic) work.

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What really goes on in the therapist's consulting room? And in this most private of relationships, what is the therapist thinking?In this warm, revealing memoir, the author, one of Britain's most experienced clinical psychologists, tells the story of his life and career as a psychotherapist. He recounts his journey from hard-nosed behaviour therapist, where every treatment method needed scientific justification, through trainings in cognitive therapy and psychodynamic therapy, to his final understanding of the value of the therapeutic relationship.Using case material from his professional practice, the author vividly describes his encounters with some fascinating and often tricky people who rarely conform to what is expected of them. He is candid about the mistakes he made and the lessons he eventually learned. He reflects on his experience of different psychotherapy schools and shows how his understanding of what matters most in therapy changed over the years.