Trusting in Psychotherapy

Trusting in Psychotherapy is an important book that
fills a lamentable void: although virtually everyone-therapists, students,
and patients alike-believes that trust is the foundation of psychotherapy,
the topic has been neglected in the psychiatric literature, to the detriment
of the therapeutic relationship. The author, who brings five decades of
study and practice to the enterprise, posits that cultivating trusting
psychotherapy bonds-especially for patients who have experienced
developmental trauma in close relationships-is complex, challenging, and a
critically important topic for examination. Whereas therapists are inclined
to focus on patients' problems with trust, the author argues that trusting
cannot be understood apart from trustworthiness and that therapists should
give equal attention to the task of becoming trustworthy to their patients.
Blending developmental science and ethical thought in an interdisciplinary
spirit, the author draws on contemporary writings of philosophers to
elucidate the concepts of trust and trustworthiness. What it means to trust
in the practice of psychotherapy; the many facets of trusting and
trustworthiness; attachment relationships, both secure and insecure; the
central role of hope in trust; and the ethical-moral basis of trusting and
trustworthiness-these and other topics are addressed with competence and
care.

Intellectually engaging and designed to provoke thought, the book:


* Offers a broadly developmental perspective, reflecting the belief
that attachment trauma plays a profound role in many severe psychiatric
disorders and emphasizing that the resulting and pervasive distrust and
social alienation pose significant obstacles to developing therapeutic
connections.
* Provides an overview of the professional literature on
developing expertise in conducting psychotherapy, with discussion of current
research.
Addresses the proliferation of new therapies in the context of
competing schools of thought and what this proliferation means for the
therapist caught between science and practice, academics and clinicians.

* Is aimed chiefly at psychotherapists, yet its conversational,
generally nontechnical style makes it accessible to those who are not mental
health professionals, including patients who might wish to listen in on the
conversation and families who desire a more complete understanding of the
therapeutic process.
* Includes key points at the end of each chapter to
help the reader stay oriented and focused on the most important concepts.


Trusting in Psychotherapy argues persuasively that we
should shift the balance of our efforts from developing therapies to
developing therapists, a view that deserves to inform mental health research
and thought leadership.