The Development of a Therapist: Healing Others - Healing Self

by Louis Cozolino

A conversational and practical guide to the next level of professional development. Louis Cozolino, one of our most compelling clinical writers, takes us inside the mind and heart of a seasoned therapist, carrying on the tradition of personal and professional writing begun in The Making of a Therapist. This book discusses some of the more abstract concepts and ways of interacting with clients such as relaxed curiosity, finding the secret ally, and discovering the deep narrative. Also addressed are clinical concepts such as related states of mind, the process of change, free-floating attention, and listening with the third ear. More than just theoretical commentary, the book offers concrete clinical advice for the experienced therapist and brings a fresh perspective to some of the most current clinical challenges including the complexities of executive functioning; treating clients with internet addiction; and taking responsibility for your continued personal growth, clinical supervision, and education after leaving school.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Counselling

240 pages, Paperback

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suspect a 5-star rating on this book betrays my deep seated theoretical leanings in therapy.

This book is an absolute necessity.

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed this book. As a therapist I took a lot from it, both for my self and for my clients. It touches on very relevant areas with an humble approach and simple language. I enjoyed the chapters on surface and deep narratives, the mind of a therapist and "taming demons". The book is rich in examples too which are very enjoyable and useful to read.
I loved the metaphor of the "amygdala whisperer". For me it's a 5. I'd recommend it to my therapists colleagues. Easy, helpful and inspiring book.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked a lot of what the author said, but it felt like he was telling me what he thinks more than citing or backing himself up with research. I think the author is wise, but I was left wanting a little more from him on the topic of developing therapists.

Here are some notes and highlights:

Development of a therapist

Self reflective capacity and training yourself to hold multiple truths

Be your own amygdala whisperer

Countertransference and trusting your mirror neurons

Unconscious puppy example- I don’t know about that

Beliefs search for confirmatory information and neglect other information

You don’t have to believe everything you think

Skepticism can be helpful



Look for meanings that might be held by a client based on the metaphors a client is using

Happy people build their inner world; unhappy people blame their outer world. - Anonymous


The greatest gifts a therapist can give a client who are his presence an ear and vulnerability

Case studies

Dangers of the internet on development

listen to your heart

[Andres · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only section that was memorable for me was listed in Chapter 13. The rest, was more like a story, that I can't say I learned a whole lot from. Was hoping to get something useful I can take away from it.

[Carol Hammal (Carol’s Bookery) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started so well but the last 3 chapters felt like they belonged to a totally different book! What a shame.

I’d still recommend this book to all my supervisees (new therapists as well as established ones).

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫This serves as a companion piece to the author’s book, The Making of a Therapist (which I haven’t read yet but plan on reading). As a clinical psychologist trainee, I found this book to be a helpful supplementary resource while matriculating through my doctoral program. Furthermore, I found Dr. Cozolino’s integration of neuropsychology extremely helpful in conceptualizing client’s presenting concerns from both a neurological and biological perspective. If you are interested in the developmental process of a psychotherapist, this book is really accessible and written in a conversational style rather than an academic/scholarly textbook format. I really appreciated the brief case vignettes. Some things to consider is that this book is probably more helpful for therapists that are currently in training or have been exposed to some form of psychotherapeutic training as the author indirectly makes this assumption by some of the technical terminology and multiple psychotherapy references. Aside from that, it was an enjoyable and informative read!

[Sadie Yuly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great gems of wisdom in here, especially within some of the early chapters. Unfortunately, the end takes a weird turn towards fear-mongering talking points about the evils of the internet, phones, and social media. Within this portion of the book, he primarily takes a one-sided, relatively superficial, and emotionally charged perspective that feels at best, generationally out of touch. Comparing “internet addiction” to substance use disorders and eating disorders is absurd and almost offensive. Alluding to the idea of putting clients through an “internet addiction detox program” prior to starting psychotherapy is not only impractical, but ignorant. I was interested to hear his thoughts about telehealth psychotherapy and the use of AI in therapy, which are actually genuine concerns in the field that current therapists need to navigate, yet these are never even alluded to in his discussion of the internet. Ultimately, this was an unfortunate ending to a helpful guide to beginner therapists.

[Melanie Mann · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I’m gonna say that there are some good takeaways from this book. It wasn’t what I was expecting. There was very little content about therapists healing themselves and the book was mostly client-focused. What little there was about therapists healing themselves, was a bit unhelpful, like the entire chapter where he talks about how a lot of therapists shouldn’t actually be therapists and it felt more like a rant I was being subjected to rather than something I’m supposed to learn for my own development. He also used “alpha, beta, omega” terminology which was very disconcerting and begs the question if his perspective is worthy listening to at all.

[Furball404 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this right after reading "making of a therapist", and it contains a lot of good insights, it was also fascinating to follow some of the case studies. Cozolino is without doubt a voice of reason in a world gone mad.

[Teodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great companion for a therapist explaining the therapeutic relationship between the client and the psychologist.

[Dru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read about being a psychologist and the training involved. He definitely brings up thoughtful points to challenge us as readers.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man this dragged. Probably because I was assigned to read a few chapters for a terribly dry class discussion every three weeks and stayed on track with that schedule. But also would purposefully read before bed bc I knew it could lull me to sleep.
I’m being a hater. It was an informative and curiosity-provoking book. Great bits of insight into all the challenges that accompany the counseling profession from a client and clinician standpoint.
Dr. Lou knows what is up.
I guess it felt a little like beating a dead horse at times but I have some real experience already and consider myself flexible to other perspectives so books like these that hammer that point home are supplemental to what I already feel that I am bringing in the professional landscape.
The last four chapters felt extremely out of place with the first ten to be frank. But I mostly agreed with his opinionated parts. And I thought the quotes and bolded subheadings were clutch!
Again I am a hater.