Defining Moments For Therapists

Psychotherapy is about change. Most books show how the client changes, not how the therapist changes, but therapists change and grow too. This book shows how therapists transform and grow in response to their private life experiences and to the relationship they and their clients develop together. The essays in this book are first-person accounts, by 11 therapists, of some “Aha!” moments when they got to understand themselves better.

Edited by Serge Prengel and Lynn Somerstein.


See bottom of the page to buy this book online.


Read the introduction and the afterword.


Praise for the book

The stories in Defining Moments For Therapists capture beautifully the potential for self-transformation when mindful attention is paid to process in therapy.
–Arnold Mindell, Founder of Process Oriented Psychology, Author of Dreambody

Defining Moments For Therapists is a clear, well-written volume on the creativity of the psychotherapist’s inner dynamics. This important subject is rarely approached in a concrete way, which is why this volume is so valuable. We can see, from an inside perspective, how psychotherapists explore new roads, new methods, and accommodate to the patients’ needs without losing their own identity. The introduction and afterword written by the editors provide a useful context that gives coherence to a volume written by such a wide variety of therapists: It is about embodied interpersonal psychology, in which a major tool is how the therapists’ affective and cognitive dynamics resonate with their patients. Their style is clear and articulate, with no professional jargon to obscure the depth of their vision.
–Michael C. Heller, Author of Body Psychotherapy: history, concepts & methods, New York: W.W. Norton

The process of therapy encompasses an ongoing series of defining moments, and not just for our clients. This book offers a compelling account of tipping points in therapy from the perspective of a variety of practitioners representing many schools of treatment. From psychoanalysts, art therapists, body-centered psychotherapists and others, we encounter those moments of discovery that define the process and highlight the meaningfulness of those daily intersubjective journeys we take to accompany our clients on the path to health.
–Farrell Silverberg, Ph.D., Psychoanalyst and Author of Make the Leap: A practical guide to breaking the patterns that hold you back.

This amazing book brings us inside the personal world of therapists. Human beings who have devoted years to understanding behavior, mind, body and spirit. Reading through this book I stopped during every chapter to honor the wisdom of individuals who allowed their central selves to write with such strength and courage. A wonderful read that will touch your heart, not once, but many times.
–Connie Robillard, LCMHC, Co-author of Cultivating Hope With Abuse Survivors


Buy this book online

At Amazon.com: As a paperback or as a Kindle ebook
Please note: The above links are to the US site. In other countries, search local Amazon site for 1892482258 (paperback) or B00C10SQBC (ebook).At BN.com: As a paperback