Στον καναπέ: Η ιστορία μιας θεραπείας

by Philippa Perry, Σοφία Τάπα (Translator)

Στο βιβλίο Στον καναπέ: Η ιστορία μιας θεραπείας , η Philippa Perry στρέφει την οξυδερκή ματιά της στη δύναμη της ψυχοθεραπείας.

Η καθηλωτική αυτή περιπτωσιολογική μελέτη ψυχοθεραπείας με τη μορφή εικονογραφημένης ιστορίας εξερευνά γλαφυρά τις θεραπευτικές συνεδρίες διάρκειας ενός έτους με έναν ασθενή, εξετάζοντας παράλληλα ένα ευρύ φάσμα δεξιοτήτων, οπτικών και τεχνικών.
Αν και επιφανειακά μοιάζει με μια απλή ιστορία, η αφήγηση αυτών των μυθοπλαστικών συνεδριών γίνεται χωρίς αναστολές, με ειλικρίνεια, οξυδέρκεια και χιούμορ, προκειμένου να δείξει πώς μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί η ψυχοθεραπεία για την επίτευξη μιας ριζικής και μόνιμης αλλαγής.

Αστείο και ειλικρινές, είναι ένα συναρπαστικό ανάγνωσμα για οποιονδήποτε ενδιαφέρεται για την ανθρώπινη ψυχή και αποτελεί πηγή απαραίτητων γνώσεων για κάθε μελλοντικό ψυχοθεραπευτή.

Ένα είναι σίγουρο: το βιβλίο Στον καναπέ: Η ιστορία μιας θεραπείας θα κερδίσει τους αναγνώστες που θα ήθελαν να μάθουν πώς λειτουργεί η ψυχοθεραπεία τόσο από τη σκοπιά του θεραπευόμενου όσο και του θεραπευτή.
Μια φρέσκια προσέγγιση, εικονογραφημένη από τη συγγραφέα και εικονογράφο Flo Perry ( How to Have Feminist Sex ), συνοδευόμενη από συνοπτικές και διαφωτιστικές υποσημειώσεις.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Psychology, Nonfiction, Comics, Mental Health, Psychoanalysis, Counselling

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Philippa Perry, author of How to Stay Sane, is a psychotherapist and writer who has written pieces for The Guardian, The Observer, Time Out, and Healthy Living magazine and has a column in Psychologies Magazine. In 2010, she wrote the graphic novel Couch Fiction, in an attempt to demystify psychotherapy. She lives in London and Sussex with her husband, the artist Grayson Perry, and enjoys gardening, cooking, parties, walking, tweeting, and watching telly.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/philip...

Reviews

[Greta G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couch Fiction is Philippa Perry's creative attempt to show, via the medium of the graphic novel, what the practice of therapy is really about, and that success in therapy depends on the quality of the relationship between the client and the therapist. She wrote this book because she wanted to describe what life can be like as a therapist and as a client.

The author presents a fictional case study of Pat, a messy, middle-aged female psychotherapist and James, a seemingly successful, smug, thirtysomething barrister who, when he was only a kid, developed kleptomania. The illustrated story follows their psychotherapeutic relationship and the breakthroughs of each through a year of therapy sessions together.

With most of the pictures, illustrated by an unknown artist Junko Graat, there are footnotes that provide more theoretical reflections, and explain the importance of a scene.
There are for instance footnotes about 'projection, transference and countertransference', 'bracketing', 'attachment theory', 'projective identification', 'intersubjectivity theory', 'dissociative personality disorder', ....

I really looked forward to reading this, and it was an interesting read, but I thought it was shoddy. The story seemed too simplistic and wasn't really engaging, probably partly due to the many footnotes; the illustrations were rather poor and unattractive ; the font for the footnotes was so small they were almost unreadable ; the explanations in the footnotes were mostly too short to really offer an understanding, unless you already are familiar with these often complex theoretical ideas.
In short, a great concept that was poorly executed, according to this reader.
However, I can imagine that for therapy students, such a book could be a great introduction to the process of psychotherapy, and spark off interesting debates.
And it's certainly worth a try if you have an interest for psychotherapy.

[Emily B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was easy to sit and read this in one sitting mainly because it’s so accessible and also interesting. As a result of reading this I would read other books by Philippa Perry and feel that I can’t help but like her.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Psychotherapy gives me the creeps. But – wait a moment – why did I say CREEPS? Was it because I was going to write that it gives me the WILLIES but I didn't want to write the word WILLY because I don't want to draw attention to my WILLY which as you see I have now done? How rancidly ironic. I see I have subverted myself – again.

You can't win with psychotherapists. But wait – who said there was anything to "win"? is that how I look at life? As an eternal struggle of winning and losing?

Aaargh.

I prefer Motown to psychotherapy. On balance I think when all is said and done Motown has saved more lives and given meaning to more people than psychotherapy. I don't have the figures right now, but if you check into it, I think you'll find I'm right about that. It's on the internet somewhere.

This is a graphic novella about one particular psychotherapy experience from the point of view of both parties. This rich English barrister is a secret kleptomaniac (nothing serious, just a little light shoplifting). It turns out that.. er.. it was because he wasn't telling people what he was feeling. As soon as he did so, and it took him a year, his Spanish girlfriend married him and he never stole anything again. The End.

Sound like a pile of poo to you? Or is that another wretched reference to my private parts?
There are so many problems I have with psychotherapy but like religion it's because I never "got" it. I've never experienced it, only been around people who have. I've seen how it can become a destructive habit in itself. But if, as Freud said, it can turn hysterical misery into ordinary unhappiness, as he thought was its raison d'etre, then fair dinkum. And I suppose, grudgingly, I have to acknowledge that when the princess could not get a wink of sleep on her fifteen mattresses because of the pea hidden under the first mattress, it was real discomfort she was feeling.
This little book does give some insight into the therapeutic thing but if it's free and candid expression of feelings which is going to make me feel better about my life, then I'd like to say that I wanted to pour a bucket of icy water over the irritating upper class client and hide the therapist's glasses.

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart-warming tale into the intricacies of therapy and counselling. We follow the therapist and her client who begrudgingly comes for a one off session because he has a problem with stealing. By the end of the book he has been for over 30 sessions and it's funny, tender and remarkably true to life. I was also thrilled and didn't fully twig until the end that the author of the book is none other than Philippa Perry, Grayson Perry's wonderful wife. The tale takes on even more poignancy because of this.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is worth reading for the curiosity value alone. This comic follows a therapist/client relationship from the first visit to the final session. Every session is not presented in detail, but the intent is to demystify the process of analysis by showing it from start to finish. There are somewhat extensive footnotes for almost every page that point out nuances that may otherwise be missed. One has the choice of reading the story, and then going back for the footnotes, or reading page-footnotes-page-footnotes straight through. I took the latter approach, which may have hurt my initial enjoyment as I found the story difficult to get into at first. As comics go, it's pretty basic stuff, though someone--either the artist or the writer--seems to have a compulsion to put a title on the spine of every book in the therapist's office. Most people would have been content to just have them be background. If you have any interest in psychotherapy, casual or otherwise, this book is worth checking out. Whether it's more interesting for its content, or simply by the fact of its existence, I'll leave up to you, dear reader ...

[Wes Hazard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you start this book you'll finish it quickly because once you're granted fly-on-the-wall access to an uber-realistic psychotherapy session it's not something you tend to walk away from in a hurry. I was engaged, entertained and left feeling like I learned a thing or two, Couch Fiction was well worth the read.

A graphic novel that explores the months-long encounter between London psychotherapist Pat and her client/patient/co-lead James, a successful barrister with an unhealthy compulsive addiction, Couch Fiction does a superb job of illustrating what exactly happens in a modern psychotherapy session.

A graphic novel is the perfect medium for this material. It does a great job illustrating how we often say one thing and mean another and it really allows readers to get inside the mind of not only the patient, but the therapist as well. The drawings and dialogue are enough on their own, but the whole project is really enhanced by text footnotes/commentary at the bottom of most pages which gives lay readers some insight about what they're seeing from a clinical perspective.

Highly recommended.

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couch Fiction, ’a graphic tale of psychotherapy’ was as entertaining as it was informative. Perry has put together an insightful snapshot into what it is like to be a therapist and also what it is like to be a patient. As a therapist I appreciated the explanatory texts underneath the graphics - despite it often being information I knew, the reminder and the explanations helped me identify fresh perspectives. Lines like “she is not a perfect therapist and there is not such thing’”are helpful reminders. Seeing the nuances of therapy, the missed moments and the overzealous comments made me cringe and chuckle in equal merit. as did a later line: “The idea though is not to be perfect. The idea is to remain authentic while striving for the unknowable truth”.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a graphic depiction of a psychotherapy case of a man "James" who is a successful barrister who begins to steal for no reason. His kleptomania is explored by his therapist "Pat". Revelations occur and James is cured.

I read this thinking it would be an interesting comic and, as a comics fan of both popular and indie varieties, gave this a try. Unfortunately it's not very interesting or well drawn.

First off, the "characters" never seem real but just cyphers for the author to put into situations that can put forward psychotherapy instruction. James: "I am beginning to resonate with the idea that an unacknowledged feeling can rule me, whereas I can have more control over the ones I know about." (p.96). Sort of hypothetical scenarios for demonstrative purposes with mannequins.

Furthermore, these scenarios feature footnotes that explain what's going on in the cartoon section, sort of a running commentary throughout. Because of this the comic never takes off as a story and heightens the sense that it is an introductory-type pamphlet on psychotherapy to those interested in it.

The book is basically if Freud's "Dora" was illustrated this would be it, drawn by a less talented Posy Simmonds or Gabrielle Bell. Possibly good to those with a passing interest in psychotherapy, but not a great comic and not a great read.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides an illustrated guide to psychotherapy sessions.

The beginning was a bit lame but it became more interesting as it progressed, but I’m not sure how much I learnt (if anything).

Not really sure who this book is aimed at – more likely to be clients rather than analysts.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who would think that a graphic novel (read here comic book) about psychotherapy would be a good idea?

Well...um...me, actually. Since it combines two of my interests (psychology and comics), I thought, "what the heck?" and took the plunge. Plus, it was recommended by one of my colleagues.

The novel focuses on the psychoanalysis of James Clarkson Smith and shows his progress from scared new client to healthy individual, with all of the ups and downs of therapy interposed. Dr. Patricia Phillips practices psychoanalytic psychotherapy (think Freud here, guys), but is not a perfect therapist. She actually seems to be a real therapist, moving too fast at times and taking some things too personally at times. Just like the rest of us. So, the process of therapy is presented accurately. And, while I do not agree with some of the techniques--I lean more toward cognitive behavioral therapy than psychoanalysis--I cannot fault the process.

This is a good book for anyone who wants to understand the process of therapy. Dr. Perry (she is a therapist herself) includes author's notes on almost every page that explain the importance of the scene depicted on the page. And even though the comic is drawn only in black and white, the art is well done and keeps the reader's attention.

All-in-all, if you were ever interested in a look behind the curtain of psychotherapy, this is the book for you.

[danes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing behind-the-scenes look into therapy, but a bit underwhelming. I'm not certain its style (both in the format, the writing, perhaps even the art style) would be received well by many, and it's not something I'd particularly recommend unless you're *that* curious about the topic. A 3.5 read.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a smart way to introduce people to how psychotherapy works. Funny, smart, insightful.

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memahami pola asuh orangtua kita buatku bukan untuk menyalahan metode mereka. Tapi untuk memperbaiki bagaimana sebaiknya membangun dan menjalin relasi dengan orang lain.

Sembari menunggu buku teranyar Philippa Perry dikirimkan (karena aku ikut pre-order di Konyv), aku mencoba membaca Couch Fiction. Seperti yang bisa dibaca pada judul, buku ini disuguhkan dalam bentuk fiksi & bergambar.

Alkisah seorang pria datang kepada Pat, seorang psikoterapis. Awalnya dia skeptis kalau konseling dapat membantunya menghentikan kebiasaan klepto--yang kemudian mengancam hubungannya dg kekasihnya.

Pada sesi kedua, lelaki ini berniat untuk nggak kasih cerita sebenarnya perihal masa kecilnya dulu. Baginya, masa kecilnya dg kebiasaan klepto ini nggak nyambung. Cuma buang-buang waktu aja. Tapi bagi Pat, hal ini berkaitan.

Singkat cerita, apa yang harus dilakukan lelaki ini nggak bisa sekadar "berhenti" tapi tau akar masalahnya. Kalau pakai bahasa gambalng, "Kamu ini diapain orangtuamu sih kok bisa jadi klepto? Hidupmu berkecukupan, sekolahmu oke, sekarang jadi pengacara." Tapi Pat nggak mungkin bilang gitu langsung ke kliennya, kan? 🫣

Sepanjang buku, pembaca bakal dikasih suguhan narasi gimana praktik psikoterapi dilakukan. Memang nggak bisa covering all the "magic" things yg dilakukan psikoterapis. Namun bagiku, hal ini bisa kasih gambaran gimana tindakan kita masa kini ada pengaruh dari cara kita dibesarkan.

Bagian favoritku tentu saja soal Attachment Style. Sedikit banyak membantuku meraba-raba apa yang terjadi di masa kecil dan bagaimana dampaknya bagiku sekarang. Termasuk dalam menjalin relasi dengan orang lain.

Meski ada "studi kasus" yang dibawakan dalam Couch Fiction, tapi bahasanya tetap ramah untuk pembaca pemula. Perry menekankan (lewat karakter Pat) bahwa psikoterapi nggak akan berhasil tanpa keinginan internal kliennya, mau sebagus apapun kualitas konselingnya.

[Sophy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange little offering. I think its perhaps meant as a light-hearted teaching tool to those in the fields of counselling/psychotherapy. The graphic comic format is a difficult one to take seriously however.

As a graphic comic stand alone however, it is ok, but just ok. The illustrations are nevertheless good.

[Shine Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome, fun, and insightful read! Time blurred as I whizzed through each strip, then another run through reading the footnotes. Very curious to read more of Perry’s stories!

[Kritikal Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diving into the book, I knew it isn't going to be a conventional story- and I was right. It is more of a resource than a tale- it gives interesting insights into the unsaid elements of a therapy session. As someone who goes for therapy, I found these deeply relatable at times, and I imagine that anyone who wants a raw, real picture of the sessions, and an understanding of what all goes through the mind of both the participants, would pick this up and find it useful.
I often found myself pausing and making a special note of some terminologies and concepts, and that to me is the hallmark of a good book.
Maybe I would've expected it to be more inclusive of the kinds of questions raised during therapy, but the limitation was imposed by the anecdote, which is understandable, but makes it fall short on certain accounts.
Overall, I really liked the tangent on therapy that the book presents.

[Elodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

erm this was okay but I was expecting better, the client and counsellor scenario and the counsellors ideas felt abit to simplistic in the message that "we talk and thus everything falls into place with a happily ever after and we never again have that same problem" it doesnt so much acknowledge the fluency of the change and the chance that the presenting issues may come back and there is not always a permanent cure but rather a continous battle where we may have off days. Having said that I did like that Philippa acknowledges that the counsellor could make mistakes and correct herself so that counsellors are not perfect but that its important to be real and genuine.

[chris tervit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having previously read Susie Orbach's 'The Impossibility of sex' years ago when I was working in psychiatry/psychotherapy I was really keen to read this after an interview I read about the author. She is married to Grayson Perry the artist who likes to dress up in his female alter-ego & did some amazing vases that won the Turner prize few yrs ago.

Loved all the explanations of the psychotherapy terms in simple fun language. Great cartoon drawings too. A fun afternoon read. Will pass on- I think Julie might like this too!

[K M Laume · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a psych student I found it quite interesting as there are not many options out there for seeing what sessions are like aside from wildly exaggerated Hollywood renditions or thrillers. I really liked that there was a critique of the therapist in the notes too - found that quite helpful. Though I’m generally not drawn towards psychoanalysis it was good to see her take a range of approaches and to see that she doesn’t always get it right (she is after all human) and how it shows how those mistakes are able to be corrected etc.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a book like this....it's like meta-psychotherapy! Very insightful and funny narrator....sometimes at odd moments. Ha!

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather interesting - good for anyone with an interest, shallow or deep in psychotherapy.

[Keen Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books like this. This is the third title I’ve read from Perry and as ever she is a fount of wisdom and wonderful to read. The set up with this story gives us an intimate and intense scenario, which makes us feel like we’re eavesdropping on a private session, which is effectively what the reader is doing.

In here she touches on the concepts of bracketing, boundaries, trigger theory, transference and counter-transference, value judgements and value systems, giving us a deeply absorbing and compelling insight into her working environment and some of the sophisticated tools she employs during it. She throws in the odd illustration to emphasise, like the Johari Window.

The art work is strong, simple and effective and works nicely alongside the text. This is another great piece of work from Perry. It is one of those books which is far greater than the sum of its parts.

[Chinchilla_clouds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό! Σοβαρό, μιας και περιγράφει την διαδικασία της ψυχοθεραπείας από την αρχή έως το τέλος της, αλλά ευχάριστα δοσμένο στη μορφή κόμικ.

Κάτω από κάθε στριπ υπάρχουν σημειώσεις με επιστημονικές πληροφορίες και σχόλια για κάθε στάδιο που περνούν ψυχοθεραπεύτρια και θεραπευόμενος, εξηγώντας ότι και οι δύο είναι ευάλωτοι στην θεραπεία, και πρέπει να λύσουν συναισθηματικούς γρίφους.

Βιβλίο όχι μόνο για εκείνους που κάνουν ήδη θεραπεία, ούτε μόνο για ψυχοθεραπευτές. Θεωρώ πως έχει να δώσει σε όλους κάτι, ειδικά σε εκείνους που σκέφτονται να ξεκινήσουν αλλά φοβούνται.

[Alice Golding · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 40th book this year! 10 more than my initial target 🙌🏼

I read this in one sitting - a graphic novel of psychoanalytic psychotherapy sessions (think Freud, ie lots of things have to relate back to sex 🙄) so although not my therapeutic leaning I thought it was a clever way of showing what can happen in therapy!

[Todd N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impulse read on my Kindle read in one sitting after reading a review of How To Survive The Modern World. Ms. Perry collaborated with Mr. de Botton on some books, which led to a recommendation for this book.

It's an interesting graphic novel with extensive notes accompanying each page that follows one chap as he goes through therapy in hopes of ridding himself of a particular compulsive behavior. Most of the "action" takes place in the therapists office, and Ms. Perry explains the therapeutic process and what is going on in both their heads. The book is much more interesting than I am explaining it.

Being no stranger to the therapeutic process myself, reading this book was a little like having a magician show how she does a few of her simpler tricks. Recommended.

Edit to add: Oh I just realized that I read a previous book of hers called How To Stay Sane, which was put out by The School Of Life.

[Louisa]

accessible, light and refreshing. wish it were longer, was very close to feeling skimpy. appreciated the process tracking, thinks she does it the best amongst all the other authors of psychotherapy tales i’ve read so far.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, insightful and funny!

[Preez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and insightful read with beautiful illustrations

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day 4 of isolation. This is the most I've been reading in months!

An excellent introduction to the subject matter for someone who knew very little about it, nicely drawn, movingly written.

[Ish Tominey-Nevado · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun quick read, heart warming and a funny perspective on what it’s like being a therapist!