The authors examine the realities of clinical practice for which therapists are unprepared. Kottler and Hazler cover issues that are rarely addressed in the classroom, such as organization politics, the negatives of being a therapist, keeping up with cutting-edge innovations, sustaining a private practice, and planning for the futureand offer concrete suggestions for adapting to the world outside graduate school.
Graduate school and professional training for therapists often focus on academic preparation, but there's a lot more that a therapist needs to know to be successful after graduation. With warmth, wisdom, and expertise, Jeffrey A. Kottler covers crucial but underaddressed challenges that therapists face in their professional lives at all levels of experience. PART I, "More Than You Bargained For," covers the changing landscape of the mental health profession and the limits and merits of professional training. PART II, "Secrets and Neglected Challenges," explores important issues that are often overlooked during training years, including the ways our clients become our greatest teachers, the power of storytelling, and the role of deception in psychotherapy. And in PART III, "Ongoing Personal and Professional Development," Kottler focuses on areas in which even the most experienced therapists can continue to hone their talents and maximize their potential, laying out effective tips to navigate organization politics, write and publish books and articles, cultivate creativity in clinical work, maintain a private practice, present and lecture to large and small audiences, sustain passion for the work of helping others, plan for the future, and much more. As honest and inspiring as it is revealing, this book offers therapists and counselors at all levels of experience key ideas for thriving after formal education.
Is life after graduate school different from what you expected? Are you finding that graduate school did not teach you a number of critical skills and attitudes that you now need as a practicing therapist? You are not alone. Many therapists are struggling to adapt not only to the profession's changing landscape (such as the advent of managed care and the burgeoning of new theories and treatment approaches), but also to demands directly related to their professional and personal success. This book explores many issues that are rarely addressed in formal educational experiences, for example