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Crazy - notes on and off the couch

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Psychiatrist describes many mental condirionss and their treatmen

197 pages, Nook

First published June 14, 2011

24 people are currently reading
872 people want to read

About the author

Rob Dobrenski

3 books4 followers

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5 stars
125 (22%)
4 stars
223 (39%)
3 stars
168 (30%)
2 stars
36 (6%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
Profile Image for Yomna.
123 reviews33 followers
October 5, 2016
As a recent graduate student in the field of mental health, I found this book incredibly relatable! Dr. Rob shares some of his client's stories, but most importantly shares his own stories, reflections during sessions, and challenges during his training. I love how genuine and honest he is. My ultimate favorite chapter is the one about the sex offenders and their partners. I think he was a brave graduate student going through this experience of leading a sex offenders group therapy, and managing to make the best out of it. I teared up at the end of the chapter. This part touched me because I wonder how I'd feel as a therapist if I have a sex offender as a client, and I learned so much from Dr. Rob's experience as it made me see things from a completely different perspective. One important message delivered throughout the book is how therapists are as messed up as anyone else. Dr. Rob talked about his colleague in grad school who struggled with social anxiety even though he's a therapist. He also talked about his struggle with depression after a break up, and how his therapy sessions went along with taking Zoloft. I recommend this book to everyone who wants get a glimpse into a therapist's world.
Profile Image for Shane.
8 reviews
January 25, 2021
This book really humanized the psychology profession.
Profile Image for Carin.
Author 1 book113 followers
July 18, 2011
This memoir is naturally a little bit fudged. Due to being a psychologist, Dr. Dobrenski is bound by confidentiality, therefore what he has done is taken stories of many patients who, for instance, have dealt with the aftermath of a rape or the death of a spouse, and consolidated those stories into one. That said, it doesn't read or feel like fiction. These compilations don't detract from the book at all, they don't give a feel of inauthenticity or two-dimensionality. It's unfortunate, but the only way a psychologist could write this kind of book. It could have been self-serving, but Dr. Dobrenski never fails to show his own culpability and flaws in the therapy process.

Although he appears to now be in his 30s, the book focuses on his early years in training and just starting out as a therapist, and how he often stumbled along the way. One of his big themes is that therapists are human too, often even having a lot of the same mental issues that their patients due, which he shows through himself and two colleagues' problems. We're all "crazy," hence the title.

The book is set up as a "day in the life" of a therapist, where he has a 9:00 appointment with a depressed blind man, and then a 10:00 appointment with another "patient", and so on, covering a range of psychological topics. I'm not entirely sure why this structure was chosen, as I don't think it improves the narrative, but it also doesn't detract. He gives an overview, through individual case studies, of child therapy, group therapy with sex offenders, he helps people with OCD, panic attacks, couples therapy, and several other issues. Having been in therapy myself, I can say the way he relates how the therapy sessions go (at least the one-on-ones, I don't know about groups) seemed very accurate to me. It is interesting to see things from the other side of the couch, and to think about the diversity of problems that a generalist can see in the course of a day. Sure would keep work exciting!

A fast read, although not for the faint at heart (both the rape victim and the sex offenders sections can be graphic), this book would be a good read for anyone casually interested in psychology.
Profile Image for Ryan Holiday.
Author 79 books17.7k followers
July 6, 2012
I've known Dr. Rob (Shrinktalk.net) for a long time so this is not exactly an unbiased review. I will attempt to balance out my bias by admitting that I don't often read the stuff on his site. It's actually why I think I liked the book so much and why you probably will too. His styles seem to work so much better when read in a narrative, when consumed in "book mode" as opposed to "blog mode." Maybe it's that there are fewer distractions in a book, or maybe it's that we're more tolerant of meandering and length in a book than online. Whatever it is, Crazy really works as a book. And that's not something I would have expected because books of essays are rarely my thing. This is so much more than that. You can also tell that Rob is not only a hell of a therapist, but an introspective, kind and empathic person. I wish my therapists had been half as good as he appears to me--if they were able to see inside their patients as Dr. Rob does does with his and to know as clearly their role as a professional, as a doctor and as a person. If you like Dr. Rob, read the book. If you kind of like Dr. Rob but rarely read his site, definitely get the book.
Profile Image for Jane.
100 reviews15 followers
August 23, 2012


So I enjoyed the beginning of this book because it was a new and interesting topic to read about. There were some great parts, but to be honest I got a little bored of it towards the end. Overall, a decent book that gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a psychiatrist. I appreciate it's theme...that we are all crazy in our own ways :)
Profile Image for Rojna Yvonne.
27 reviews
July 23, 2012
Rob's hilarious! As a psychology student myself, I find this incredibly relatable (not sure whether to laugh or cry about that). Also his frankness makes his writing very appealing!
Profile Image for Judy.
258 reviews
August 25, 2019
Reading about the brain and psychology fascinate me and this book did not let me down. I found it funny and informative. It tells the story of the author and his last year of education and experiences with patients. He includes the story of his time as a patient. He does not only include the success or 'good' things about his education or patient experiences, but those that didn't work as well. This is a story of a human told in a very human manner.
19 reviews
November 15, 2017
This book took a long time to read simply because it was my "airplane" book. An enjoyable read to get an insiders view of psychology inside and out of the therapists office. We see how therapy helps others, but also that many doctors, also human, need some therapy themselves. Love the final conclusion sentence. Spot on.
Profile Image for Elizabeth M.
19 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2022
As a therapist now, I wish I would have read this during graduate school. I found myself laughing, crying, and so very seen and validated. And for clients, this would be so helpful to read and know that therapists are just as human as they are and we're not immune to the same worries and problems that they're coming in for.
32 reviews
May 15, 2018
Entertaining, especially early on; but then, the author had so many issues it started to be too much about too many of his issues, which bled into the obvious concern for 'how crazy is my therapist'.
That was part of the point of the book, but still...
Profile Image for Rachel.
1,869 reviews37 followers
May 7, 2020
Maybe it's me, and I'm just burned out on this kind of book. After loving the genre for many decades? Or, maybe it was a bit boring. Easy read, and I found the author likable. I did like the part where, as a young trainee, he worked with sex offenders and their wives.
9 reviews
August 9, 2020
Insightful

Being a therapist myself, I was curious about what this author had to say about his own experiences as a professional. He gave good insight for the lay person into what to expect in therapy.
Profile Image for kel.
89 reviews
June 24, 2025
ngl i picked up this book bc i was curious how n why my therapist became a therapist bc she won’t tell me

rlly good book tbh it was just hard to read abt the part where dude interned at a place therapying pedophiles
Profile Image for Angel.
68 reviews
August 13, 2019
As a student of SW, I learned a lot reading this book. I’m wanting to go back and make note cards on my highlights. I’d greatly appreciate another book similar to this one.
1 review
June 19, 2022
what a lovely read! Thank you to the random person on reddit who suggested this book. Made me feel more like myself, whatever that’s supposed to mean :)
Profile Image for Deb.
60 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2014
For the most part I enjoyed this book. I think it gave people who don't work in the mental health field a glimpse behind the scenes. I could relate to many of his experiences in becoming a therapist, bring young & inexperienced in the field and laughed a little in recognition. Some parts dragged a bit for me but maybe that's because I was familiar with some of the educational info he shared. The worst thing about reading this book, for me, was the way he described doing work with a survivor of rape. The therapy he provided to a survivor that he wrote about in this book was certainly not coming from the trauma informed perspective. For example, he describes "pushing" the survivor as far as she can go and making her recount every moment of the assault after he had just met her and then taping sessions and having her listen to these repeatedly at home. No part of recovery from trauma should replicate the trauma itself. Doing work with the survivor this way can cause a great deal of damage and result in the survivor doing some very unsafe things to cope with feeling out of control as they move through recovery. This entire section of the book just made me cringe. Hopefully the author has improved his skills in this area since the book was published.
24 reviews1 follower
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December 16, 2011
This book is a memoir of the psychologist Rob Dobrenski about mental health problems.To me one of his intentions in writing this book was to simply show that the psychologists/therapists are human beings like the rest of us and they DO have problems "menta problems" to deal with in their personal lives. In an honest but bold way he showed to the reader that in real life mental health professionals are like their patients that is to say they are "crazy" but "human"! The difference is they know how to deal with it and get help from professionals right on time.
He created his cases and his own life (from the time he was in the graduate school moving forward) in a 24 hour period. He has arranged/named the chapters of the book as a specific time of a single day, bringinging various cases from his clients, his colleagues' (all anonymously)or from his own life. He added some humor to them while discussing the treatments in an insightful and simple language to make the reading easier for the general readers.
Profile Image for Mel.
730 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2013
I'm not a clinician (in temperament, I'm practically the anti-clinician), but having experienced the culture and heard the stories of friends in clinical practice, I found this book both funny and touching. I'm particularly sending love and respect to "Dr. Pete," the therapist with social anxiety. I also liked this quote, from the general perspective of the helping professions:

"To be part of helping someone who was completely broken heal herself makes everything leading up to it worthwhile. The years of schooling, the countless books read, every test taken, every embarrassing thing you've said in the therapy room, every person you've tried to help but couldn't, the drinking and the antidepressants to cope with unrequited love or panic attacks or nailing chairs to the floor, the years of surrounding yourself with people who grapple to find a moment of happiness--it's all worth it" (p. 92).
Profile Image for Joe.
35 reviews1 follower
July 21, 2014
We search for answers and validation to our dilemmas and insecurities from those we deem most capable and above reproach. Be they doctors or clergy, we prefer to believe that those we rely upon are demigods because we entrust them with the most private vulnerabilities of our lives. The author honestly and courageously levels the playing field, addressing what I would refer to as normalcy. Our healers may be capable through training and experience, but they are not gods. The moment they realize and deal with this, they take step toward truly earning our trust. The author's personal accounts of his own evolution is refreshingly enlightening to himself and this reader. Perhaps the common normalcy of craziness is what makes a psychologist most truly effective.
Profile Image for Shawaga.
22 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2012
I couldn't think of a reason to not give it a 5-star rating.

I would reccomend this book to anyone who's curious to know what really goes on in a therapist session, what is it like to be a client and (ironically) at the same time a therapist. The simple writing style the author adopts makes it so easy for anyone with no background of psychology to get the complete picture of the illnesses mentioned in the book. And one of the things I like about this kind of books is the tips you'll find yourself picking up throughout the reading processes. On another note, I was kind of surprised to know that he had a blog called ShrinkTalk.com that I haven't heard about before.
Profile Image for Jordan.
27 reviews11 followers
January 1, 2012
So do psychologists ever think their patients are simply crazy? Do they themselves have mental breakdowns or at least have issues they must work out with their colleagues? The answer to both these questions is yes and the author Rob Dobrinski PhD paints a very interesting picture of the life of a budding therapist. In this book he chronicles his progression from student to practicing psychologist while peppering in stories of his patients and his own fumbles and shortcomings both as a psychologist and a man dealing with his own mental health.
Profile Image for Karla Owen foisy.
64 reviews7 followers
August 28, 2014
I have often said that I wished there were more video-taped or audio-taped counseling sessions that could be used educationally. I think Rob's book is the closest things I've found. He gives the reader an intimate view of the counseling office, inviting us to empathize with real clients with real mental health issues. He does it in a way that is humorous, entertaining, genuine, humble/human and informative. I left his book with a stronger sense of what various counseling techniques looked like when actually practiced well.
Profile Image for Kimberly Simpson.
247 reviews6 followers
August 27, 2014
I love this memoir. It is a book about mental health from the perspective of a psychologist. The book goes through some of the most common mental health problems and general treatment approach though therapy sessions with clients. It does a great job of showing the limits of treatment and the vulnerability of the psychologist. It accomplishes this in a way that is funny, heartwarming and engaging to the reader. This book normalizes the idea of "crazy" and shows that we are all just human, in a very messy world :) wonderful book!
272 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2016
I have worked on a psychiatric unit in a general hospital and was curious about this book. Not only was it educational and good in its descriptions of the mental diseases and treatment, and the rational for the treatment. The human aspects of it, from a practitioner were very interesting and at time funny. I really liked this book and it is a short but concise book on mental illness - and the ending of the fact that we are all a little crazy.
Profile Image for Haven.
70 reviews8 followers
October 5, 2011
Brilliant and honest, Rob Dobrenski brings you into the therapist's office and shows you the man behind the curtain. The book goes from laugh-out-loud to heart-breaking, all the while giving tremendous insight into how therapy works. I highly recommend this book - from those in therapy to those who disagree with therapy.
514 reviews
January 28, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. It was recommended to me by someone who knew what she was talking about. As a neophyte therapist - this book makes me believe in the good we can do and how we learn and grow. It also gives me, which I think is the most important concept, permission to be "crazy", "imperfect", and human.

Great book.
Profile Image for Joyce.
1,170 reviews7 followers
March 12, 2014
While Schopenhauer's Porcupines illustrates the work of psychotherapy through 5 case studies, Crazy looks more at how psychologists handle the work they do. The view is somewhat lighthearted and the author isn't afraid to poke fun at himself. I would guess that most psychologists will see a bit of themselves in the pages of this book.
26 reviews1 follower
July 18, 2014
A good review

I am a retired therapist and found this book to be a good review. The many typos were a little distracting and took away from the read. It started out very interesting and sort of fizzled out after the first two chapters. It held my interest because I've been there. I'm not sure others would find it that interesting...
Profile Image for Pat.
1,310 reviews16 followers
August 11, 2014
I am always interested in psychology and psychologists, and this is an interesting format presenting a typical day in the life of a psychologist and the variety of cases treated in that 12 hour period. It also makes the points that psychologists often have psychological problems of their own that must be dealt with and the processes they have for doing so.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews

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