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ResourcesBooks of Related Interest Help Lines LinksTalks and ArticlesThe following downloadable papers may give you some useful information about my own particular views on the nature of psychotherapy.Note: All material is the copyright of John Neumin. All clinical material cited in these talks consists of disguised composites. Any similarities between this material and actual persons is coincidental. If you wish me to speak to your group or organization please call me, or e-mail me and we can discuss the details. Answering the Biomedical Challenge to Psychotherapy The biomedical model of mental illness has lost sight of its own limits. While I believe that for some people medication can be helpful - in a similar way to a cast supporting a broken leg while it heals - it is not a solution. This talk attempts to address the mistakes, limitations and destructive effects of the biomedical model, and to re-evaluate them in the larger context of the psychological growth of the struggling individual. Read More Efficacy Studies The attempt to understand, evaluate or develop psychotherapy through the use of statistics misses the very essence of the process. This short paper attempts to briefly illustrate the inevitable futility of evaluating psychotherapy through efficacy studies. Read More The Subversive Nature of Psychotherapy Why is psychotherapy frightening? In this talk I briefly explore the ways that therapy challenges us both as individuals and as a culture, and how therapists can make that challenge a little more benign, a little more welcome. Read More Healing Growing and Unfolding What are the ways we change? How do these three central, intrinsic, and vital processes relate to each other and how can they be more fully harnessed in psychotherapy. Abridged text coming soon [top] Books of related interestSometimes clients (or prospective clients) will ask if there are any books that they can read to help them on their path. This is a list of books that some of my clients have told me they found valuable in their therapies and their lives in general, as well as some non-technical/non-professional books that I have found important in my development as a therapist, that may be of interest to you. While no book will be helpful to everyone, and each book will have its unavoidable limitations, I believe that each of these has much of value to offer many people.Healing the Soul in the Age of the Brain (Elio Frattaroli) I believe that this is an excellent investigation into the shortcomings of the biomedical model, and the value and necessity of a more meaningful understanding of suffering. Also useful as a window into the psychotherapeutic process, this very insightful book offers chapter after chapter of important illuminations. I highly recommend this one. Psychotherapy and Process (James F. T. Bugental) This book offers a detailed, and focused look at the author's understanding of the actual process of psychotherapy. Using the valuable metaphor of therapy as a journey, James Bugental, explores the open-ended, spiritual, and quest-like aspects of depth therapy. While I do not practice in as stark or as single minded a way as the author seems to, I do recommend this book to any client looking to further their understanding of psychotherapy. The Road Less Traveled (M. Scott Peck) Many of my clients have commented on how helpful they have found this book. Written for anyone struggling to grow, it offers simple and grounded understandings about the nature of therapy, change, and life in general. Making Therapy Work (Bruckner-Gordon, Gangi, Wallman) This is an excellent, detailed and practical resource for anyone looking for therapy or working in therapy already. Loaded with helpful lists, constructive advice and important questions to ponder, it is more of a workbook than a book to be read. Of Two Minds (T. M. Luhrmann) A fascinating exploration of two radically different ways of understanding and treating suffering that dominate our current mental health systems. The author attempts a well balanced and insightful view into the value and shadow of both the biomedical and psychotherapeutic approaches in training psychiatrists. Toxic Psychiatry (Peter Breggin) An excellent, though admittedly 'one-sided' perspective on the dangers of the biopsychiatric model of treating suffering. Some will find this book too harsh, and some will find it liberating. A well-known and very important book for survivors of the psychiatric system. Love's Executioner (Irvin Yalom) This is a book of fictionalized clinical vignettes. It gives an informative though slightly dramatized and romanticized window into what it can be like to be in therapy. The Undiscovered Mind (John Horgan) An excellent debunking of many of the false claims made by brain science, genetics and therapy. The Mind and the Brain (Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Sharon Begley) An interesting attempt to untangle and understand the relationship between mind and brain, between the material and immaterial. The Art of Loving (Eric Fromm) An excellent, though theoretical, exploration on love and its place in human life. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey) This is a book that quite a few of my clients have told me was very valuable and challenging. Less a book about 'effectiveness' than one about deepening and respecting our selves and our lives, this book has been a simple and powerful focus. Freud and Man's Soul (Bruno Bettelheim) An excellent rereading of Freud, and an important correction of the misunderstandings and mistranslations that even Freud scholars have read into his work. Women's Growth in Connection (Judith Jordan . . .) An excellent fusion of analytic and feminist understandings of the development of all human beings and the relationships between them. Integral Psychology (Ken Wilbur) Ken Wilbur makes a valiant attempt to synthesize modern psychology and the psycho-spiritual traditions of the world. [top] Help Lines
[top] Links[all links open in a new window]The Centre for Training in Psychotherapy The website of the school where I trained. An excellent resource, an excellent school. Canadian Association of Psychodynamic Therapy. This professional organization promotes and develops the practice of psychodynamic therapy in Canada. Caversham Booksellers An independent bookseller with an excellent selection of books on Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, Psychiatry, Parenting and other topics (including some that do not begin with the letter P). WCREC.org The Women's Counseling, Referal and Education Centre. An excellent resource. Therapy Toronto If you have decided to pursue therapy but don't feel like I am the right therapist for you, you can find other well trained therapists here. |
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