Intimacy: Stories of Clinicians and Clients

From highly regarded therapist and author David Treadway, this unique book presents fictional stories that are both instructive and a pleasure to read. The volume delves into vital personal, professional, and ethical issues that are often neglected in clinical training, including burnout; therapeutic mistakes; balancing a practice with one's own family life; client suicide; and relationships between therapists and clients, appropriate as well as inappropriate. Some of the characters in these skillfully crafted stories are revisited over time, providing a window into processes of clinical change and growth. Special features include thought-provoking questions at the end of each story, a study/discussion guide, and suggestions for further reading. A rewarding resource for clinicians, this volume is also a highly useful tool for professional workshops or graduate training programs.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1988 Lunar Missions Malibu Barbie Loves You Major Goats Split Rock Gorge 2002 Dress-ups Heart to Heart Bleeding the Lines The Morning of February Fifth The American Cab Company Into the Wild Blue 2004 Not Exactly a Chocolate Soufflé 1918 Riding Lessons Epilogue Study Guide Suggested Readings

About the Author :
David C. Treadway, PhD, is a nationally known workshop leader, Director of the Treadway Training Institute, and the author of Before It's Too Late: Working with Substance Abuse in the Family and Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts His Own Grief. An award-winning contributor to the Psychotherapy Networker and other journals, he has appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, and other national television programs, and has hosted a radio show on family issues for PBS. Dr. Treadway is in private practice in Weston, Massachusetts, and currently specializes in couple therapy and workshops that support therapists in their own journeys, both personal and professional. He has been happily married for 37 years to Dr. Kate Treadway and is the proud father of two sons, Michael and Sam.

Review :
I got completely caught up in David Treadway's vivid and compassionate ways of capturing the human spirit in, about, and, sometimes, despite therapy. Treadway's wonderful stories will do more to stimulate great discussions about our shared professional calling than any treatment manual ever could.--Alan S. Gurman, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Medical School This is a wonderful book. It is a set of simple stories and questions that invite readers to reflect on these stories, and on themselves. It is a compelling journey into the dilemmas and complexities of being both a therapist and a client. Taking readers by the hand, the book leads them into the ambiguities and struggles of people caught up in the dance called psychotherapy. Eminently readable, and full of wisdom and compassion, these stories offer perspectives on the challenges of being a therapist that will be invaluable to beginning therapists and graduate students, as well as to seasoned clinicians.--Susan M Johnson, EdD, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Canada, and Ottawa Couple and Family Institute If you've had your fill of professional texts that read like a driver's manual, then this book is for you. The everyday drama, joys, and complexities of people's lives are illuminated in Treadway's stories of clients and therapists. Like the unfolding texts of our own lives, many of these stories let us see the characters over extended periods of time, offering a kind of historical sampling that deepens and enriches the experience of the reader. But what really shines is the space 'in between' the stories, the context Treadway provides for the pain of our connections to huddle alongside the solace of our shared humanity. This is a book that doesn’t flinch. Enjoy!--Jay Lappin, MSW, LCSW, Director of Family Therapy, CENTRA, Marlton, New Jersey - Underscored clearly in Intimacy, Change and Other Therapeutic Mysteries is the importance of therapist self-care, of having personal therapy, and seeking ongoing consultation/supervision with valued peers. --The Family Psychologist, 9/9/2004