Product Description

Intimate and inspiring lessons from beloved author and therapist Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher's groundbreaking investigation of America's "girl-poisoning culture," Reviving Ophelia, has sold nearly two million copies and established its author as one of the nation's foremost authorities on family issues. In Letters to a Young Therapist, Dr. Pipher shares what she has learned in thirty years as a therapist, helping warring families, alienated adolescents, and harried professionals restore peace and beauty to their lives. Letters to a Young Therapist gives voice to her practice with an exhilarating mix of storytelling and sharp-eyed observation. And while her letters are addressed to an imagined young therapist, every one of us can take something away from them.

Long before "positive psychology" became a buzzword, Dr. Pipher practiced a refreshingly inventive therapy--fiercely optimistic, free of dogma or psychobabble, and laced with generous warmth and practical common sense. But not until now has this gifted healer described her unique perspective on how therapy can help us revitalize our emotional landscape in an increasingly stressful world. Whether she's recommending daily swims for a sluggish teenager, encouraging a timid husband to become bolder, or simply bearing witness to a bereaved parent's sorrow, Dr. Pipher's compassion and insight shine from every page of this thoughtful and engaging book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22847 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-12
• Released on: 2005-04-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780465057672
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
"Most people find talking to God more satisfying than talking to Freud," says Pipher, whether they believe in God or not. For fans of the bestselling Reviving Ophelia, such perfectly pitched, patient-centered observations will seem familiar and most welcome; for first-timers, Pipher invites readers: "Make some peach tea and find a cat for your lap. Let's visit." Even the most cynical psych snob will find that visit-a series of seasonally themed letters to a fictional graduate student describing psychotherapy from the inside out-refreshing, informative and insightful. In the brief time it takes to read this slim volume, the rhythms of blather and breakthrough, resistance and revelation come through clearly. Pipher also talks readers into becoming their own therapists, and good ones at that; her epistolary persona is one of a sympathetic woman but not a fuzzy emotional thinker. She admits "All families are a little crazy, but that's because all humans are a little crazy" and "Some therapy is just plain plodding," but she also includes many anecdotes that illuminate how a well-crafted metaphor, moment of quiet or carefully timed suggestion can change a life forever. Her view of therapists as storytellers is borne out in direct, engaging prose and succinct observation. To take just one example, Pipher notes that women see apologizing as saying, "I am sorry I hurt your feelings or caused you pain." Men see it as "I am eating shit." That's Mars and Venus in two sentences, and there's plenty more. The well-known perils of the profession emerge freshly, but also its profound rewards.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A wise and compassionate book." -- Washington Post Book World

About the Author
Mary Pipher has explored cultural influences on mental health in seven books, including the best-selling Reviving Ophelia, Another Country, The Shelter of Each Other, and The Middle of Everywhere: The World's Refugees Come to Our Town. She is a psychotherapist in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Customer Reviews

Lovely
Like JB Pontalis's WINDOWS (with which this book makes an interesting comparison in cultural styles), LETTERS TO A YOUNG THERAPIST is an engaging and lucid look at one clinical psychologist's beliefs, both idiosyncratic and professional. More mature than self-help, less obscure than psychological theory, this one-day-read is ennobling and charming. Pipher writes with dignity about her profession's limitations and how an awareness of those limitations opens up vital possibilities. The format -- brief letters to a therapst-in-training, focused on a specific theme -- is lovely, and the insights, while not revelatory, are deftly articulated. In fact, that the book's insights are not revelatory is in a way its overall theme, and its pleasure. This is a humble, humane, and helpful book.

Love this book
As a grad student in a counseling program, I picked up this book after hearing a portion of Ms. Pipher's interview with Diane Reams on NPR. I read this book in two evenings. It has a lot of good advice, not just for therapists, but also for clients. She has a very soft, nurturing way of writing which I found delightful. I would highly recommend this book.

A poetic look at the art of healing.
In her magical new book, "Letters to a Young Therapist," Mary Pipher uses enchanting and lyrical prose to express her feelings not only about therapy, but also about such topics as nature, marriage, ethics, and happiness. This book is a compilation of letters that Pipher wrote to a graduate student in psychology. Pipher's letters are filled with gentle humor and a profound understanding of human nature.

Since Pipher began her career as a therapist in 1972, she has learned a great deal about her clients and herself, and this book is the fruit of all that she has learned. She emphasizes that therapy is more of an art than a science, and that therapists bear an enormous responsibility to treat their clients with great care.

Pipher's ideas are a breath of fresh air in a society that is quick to bash easy targets. For instance, it is fashionable for people to blame their parents and other family members for their problems, but Pipher believes that individuals must ultimately take responsibility for their own choices in life. She also believes that the family unit is so important that we should do everything in our power to support and strengthen it rather than undermine it.

Pipher waxes poetic when she speaks of the power of metaphor and storytelling to enhance people's lives and imbue their experiences with greater meaning. Pipher is not only a gifted therapist. She is also a talented writer who understands the power of language to change lives. I recommend this book highly for its warmth, wisdom, compassion, and insight into what makes life worth living.