Description
Book SynopsisCertain intrinsic features of early memories make them analogous to life problems and to the therapy relationship: childhood tends to imply situations that are confusing, disempowered, or impulsive, and relationships that are parental, intimate, or defining. This book recommends strategies for using early memories to enhance the working alliance.
Trade ReviewThis concise yet clinically rich book is an insightful guide to the ever perplexing labyrinth of memory as it affects our emotional lives. Deftly, it interweaves early Freudian notions, views of Adler, Mayman, and Bruhn, and contemporary advances in the understanding of memory-related phenomena. The result is a striking elucidation of the multi-layered meaning and impact of early experience upon us. Side-by-side this theoretical intrigue exist superb technical innovations that enhance our capacity for understanding and enrich our skills as therapists! -- Salman Akhtar, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Karson smoothly integrates psychoanalytic approaches with systems theory and behaviorism, creating a book that should be useful to anyone practicing psychotherapy. The overarching idea of basing treatment on the client's vocabulary and the client's narrative patterns is especially welcome at a time when many practitioners seek a magic bullet designed to work on everyone. Karson's sensitive handling of clinical material, presented on a realistically personal level, makes this a must-read. It is refreshing to see an approach to therapy at this moment in our professional history. -- Stephen Bloomfield, Ed.D.
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Why Early Memories? Chapter 2 Early Memories as Guides to Presenting Problems and Treatment Impasses Chapter 3 Memory Is Something We Do, Not Something We Have Chapter 4 Systems Theory, Psychotherapy, and Reporting Memories Chapter 5 Critical Review of the Literature: Freud, Adler, Mayman, and Bruhn Chapter 6 Early Memories as Roadmaps Chapter 7 A Systemic View of the Psyche Chapter 8 Step-by-Step Interpretation Chapter 9 Interpretive Examples Chapter 10 Enhancing the Working Alliance Chapter 11 Finding a Place to Stand Chapter 12 Illuminating Presenting Problems Chapter 13 Anticipating and Resolving Treatment Impasses Chapter 14 Deadly Therapy
