The Patient Who Cured His Therapist: And Other Stories of Unconventional Therapy

by Stanley Siegel, Ed Lowe, Stanley Seigel

In this entertaining, surprising, and thought-provoking book, family therapist Stanley Siegel challenges conventional therapeutic thinking with an unusual approach: instead of trying to "fix" clients, he encourages them to appreciate their own adaptive ingenuity. In the process, something remarkable almost always happens -- as in the case of the couple who solved their conflict only after literally building a wall within their home. These dozen stories demonstrate Siegel's convictions that the therapist has as much to learn as the patient, and that real healing is possible only when the healer truly respects his or her patients.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Stanley Siegel began his writing career in 1981 as the creator and author of the Families column for Newsday (NY), where he offered compelling insights into the evolving dynamics of modern relationships.
He is the author of three groundbreaking works of popular psychology: The Patient Who Cured His Therapist and Other Unconventional Stories of Therapy (Penguin/Dutton, 1992), Uncharted Lives: Understanding the Life Passages of Gay Men (Penguin/Dutton, 1994), and Your Brain on Sex: How Smarter Sex Can Change Your Life (Sourcebooks, 2011). Each has been translated into multiple languages, affirming their broad cultural and international relevance.
His novel, The Unbecoming, marks his first foray into fiction. This psychological thriller brings his keen understanding of the human psyche into a gripping narrative about identity and transformation. Across his prolific career, Siegel has redefined the role of writing in psychology and culture, leaving an indelible mark on every platform he has engaged with.
Siegel’s writing has appeared in acclaimed publications including O: The Oprah Magazine, the New York Post, and Psychology Today, where he also served as a sex columnist—bringing a bold, thoughtful voice to the intersection of intimacy, culture, and human behavior. Internationally, he was a sex columnist for FitnStyle, a Middle Eastern lifestyle magazine, where he introduced open, nuanced conversations about sexuality to diverse audiences.
As Editor-in-Chief of Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, Siegel curated a singular platform that merged art and psychology, challenging conventional thought and encouraging transformative dialogue. His engagement with the arts also includes his tenure as Dance Editor for Show Business magazine in New York, where his weekly critiques captured the energy and innovation of the city’s contemporary dance scene.
With nearly fifty years of clinical experience, Siegel has consistently infused his writing with the depth, empathy, and complexity honed through therapeutic practice. His work reflects a lasting commitment to emotional truth, intellectual rigor, and cultural relevance—an exploration of the psyche as both a private reckoning and a public mirror.

Reviews

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

The original edition of this book is listed as having been published in 1982. A lot has happened in the world of published popular psychology since then, so perhaps that's the reason why this volume feels so flat. I found the author's basic principle of therapy interesting: seeming problem behavior is sometimes a reaction to a larger problem, and sometimes that behavior does not need to be "fixed" if it is serving a positive purpose. As a book, however, this would have been better organized not as a series of essays/case studies, but as a continuous narrative into which the stories had been integrated. As individual stories, they are presented too simplistically. There is very little sense of the author's progress toward insight (either he confidently progresses toward a solution, or he has a rapid flash of understanding), and the patients all too readily accept his observations and implement them. As a brief text for students of psychology and therapy, this might help provide some solid case studies, but it did not inspire me to finish the book, despite the fact that it's only about 200 pages long. I'll seek out another book by Irvin Yalom (I really enjoyed Love's Executioner) next time I feel like reading about psychological insights.

[Suestacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous stories of unconventional psychological methods of healing.

[Callie Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting series of cases and explanation of Seigel's thought processes. Picked this up at the thrift store and I still come back to it sometimes

[Max Nussenbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book’s insight that many of our supposed problems or dysfunctions are really solutions or coping strategies we’ve developed to other problems that may not be as easily apparent.

[Phebe May · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting analysis of how powerful our narratives are and how a skilled therapist can break through them.

[Zikos Xantho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book for psychotherapists in training

[Kathrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ιστορίες, τεχνικές και το σκεπτικό ενός παράδοξου ψυχοθεραπευτή. Αξιοθαύμαστα περιστατικά. Ευκολοδιάβαστο και με κάθε ιστορία να κρατά το ενδιαφέρον!