SEMRAD: The Heart of a Therapist

by Susan Rako, Harvey Mazer, Elvin V. Semrad

For the past half-century, Harvard trained psychiatrists who learned their art and skill from a genius have quoted his observations about life in their work with patients and in teaching others the practice of psychotherapy.Here is the unique and heralded collection of remarks by this extraordinary teacher, Dr. Elvin Semrad, originally recorded by Susan Rako and Harvey Mazer during residency-training at Harvard's Massachusetts Mental Health Center in the 1960's."The book brings the reader a sense of closeness to the personal, informal aspects of this man who combined knowledge, gentleness, and strength in a most unusual way."-Otto Will, M.D.

Genres: Psychology

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 1977

Reviews

[Alina Stepan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange bric à brac of various quotes taken out from their context, some repetitive, some common knowledge, spread widely (3 per page!) to fill a book. A disappointment.

[Noam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very often, therapists confront themselves with a favorite question:
"What is it that you actually *do*? You know, after the analysis part... What *is* the actual craft of therapy?"
This is a book of quotes from a genuine man with a clear direction and an answer to that very question.
Filled with wisdom, he tackles the most difficult aspects of therapy: confronting fear, pain, complex diagnosis, responsibility and making sense of it all.
This book is a very short read, but when read correctly - it has the power to transform one from a junior therapist to one on a higher level.

A must read for anyone practicing therapy.

[Jeremy Prillwitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

wisdom on every page.

[Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A major American Psychoanalyst who supervised people like Eric Kandel. Semrad was a member of the legendary Chestnut Lodge group that helped pioneer non-pharmaceutical interventions among people experiencing extreme psychopathologies. He famously said that "the patient is the textbook" and "love is the only socially acceptable form of psychosis."