Making Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Work: Clinical Process for New Practitioners

by Deborah Roth Ledley, Brian P. Marx, Richard G. Heimberg

A highly practical guide for beginning therapists, this concise primer fills the gap between academic training and what newly-minted clinicians need to know for day-to-day work with clients. Illustrated are the "whats," "whens," and "how-tos" of the entire process of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)--from intake, assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment planning, through conducting sessions, making the most of supervision, and termination. Interwoven with an extended case example is expert guidance on confidentiality, informed consent, recordkeeping, and report writing, and on managing relationship issues and common problems that arise in CBT. Invaluable appendices point the reader toward additional resources, including empirically supported treatment manuals, journals, and websites.

Genres: Psychology, Textbooks, Science

254 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2011

Reviews

[Jackie]

Non-review personal anecdote for this book: I had a very good male friend, whose presence I enjoyed immensely and therefore treated with friendly abandon. He fell in love with me, and I didn't reciprocate, but I was the only one close enough to him to make sure he was okay.

I spoke with him about his feelings and even set him up on a few dates, but instead of helping him to move on, this only increased his emotional dependence on me. So instead of continuing to wear my therapist hat for him, which was becoming all types of unethical, I gave him this book. We met several uneventful times after that, and he spoke of it's usefulness.

I then attended an bluegrass concert at my friends' place, the so-called "Squalor House", and proceeded to get blackout drunk for the first time since high school. In my stupor, I outed the Former Child Prodigy as dating the Young and Clean Hippie. Unbeknownst to even my sober self, The Young and Clean Hippie was in a monogamous relational agreement with the Moody Anarchist, one of the residences at the Squalor house.

The next day, The Young and Clean Hippie sought me out for relationship advice. The Moody Anarchist thanked me for the info. And The Former Child Prodigy? He vowed to never ever speak to me ever again.

A few weeks ago he moved to New York, and decided to give this book back. However he dropped it of at the Squalor House, due to the vow. I came by to get it a few days later, and found that on every page he had written in the margins ways in which he could apply the book's concepts to his struggles with me. Moreover, the book had been sitting on the coffee table, had been read by all six residents and many of the typical tumbleweeds that populate the couch on a given Squalor day. It was wildly entertaining for all.

So instead of taking the book home, I left it for my little tribe to absorb. I don't know how the Former Child Prodigy would feel about this, but I like the concept. I want everyone to expose their psychological soft parts more often, you know? That's where we really reside. Maybe one day I'll give the FCP a book whose margins are filled with my experience of him and I. Seems like a good gift to give to a friend. Though as we can see, I'm a pretty poor judge of how to treat friends.

[Madeleine Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for learning the basics of CBT. If you already know the basics it might not satisfy your itch to dive deeper.

[Paul Burkhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really is a manual for new practitioners, as in people who are entirely new to the profession as a whole. In that sense, this book may be helpful for anyone just starting out in the field regardless of therapy specialty. Most of the guidance here is relevant (and helpful!) to all young and new therapists. It is focused around CBT, but as someone who is really trying to learn CBT, this isn't the book for that. Which makes this frustrating. I'm not sure exactly who this book is for. It doesn't have enough CBT education to be the main book for people trying to learn CBT to a decent level of competence, but it also is geared towards people just starting out in their career. It would be a good supplement to a more robust CBT textbook, where would serve to focus on the nitty gritty of practice. In that case, the tone and way of writing is extremely helpful and engaging. I like it. I really wanted this book to be more helpful. And for some, it could be.

[Darcy Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for beginning clinicians and practicum students. The authors share common concerns, offer practical advice, and do a "deep dive" into each component of the therapeutic process.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still can't stand CBT, but since you have know and love it, this is an acceptable intro/review. Much more readable than anything else I've come across; heavier on practice than on theory, with an appendix that recommends treatment manuals for various disorders.

I really had no idea that CBT was so wedded to assessment by standardized questionnaire. I've certainly never seen that done.

Except for the case exammple, which was invented for the book instead of taken from life. It's an "ideal" or pure case of social phobia in a highly-educated, highly motivated, middle-class man who accepts and cooperates with EVERYTHING the therapist tells him. THAT'S a typical client, all right.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have stuck with Beck, but since I had to read it for class, I made the most of it. It is written well and easy to follow. I think Beck does a better job at practical application, but does covers theory well enough. It will stay on my shelf.

[Ali Feizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

به نظر می رسد کتاب رفتاردرمانی شناختی برای تازه کارها نوشته راث لدلی، مارکس و هیمبرگ از آن دسته کتابهایی است که بایستی چندین بار مطالعه شوند.
دکتر حسن حمیدپور

[Jason C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to CBT, a continuing vignette takes the reader through assessment, diagnosis, case formulation and the entire therapeutic process.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it was recommended to new students that I am supervising. It was great for new clinicians that have not seen clients before. I do wish there was more CBT info.