Therapy with tough clients

</p>Whether youre fairly new to therapy or youve practiced for many years, no doubt at times youve found yourself stumped with certain clients who leave you feeling perplexed and discouraged with that I-just-dont-know-what-to-do-next feeling. George Gafner has been there and thats precisely why he wrote this book. The reality is that todays cookie-cutter treatment mentality presupposes that all people with, say, depression, can be treated essentially the same way, which virtually ignores the established fact that a good deal of a persons mental functioning is governed not by conscious choice but instead by automatic, or unconscious, forces that lie outside voluntary control.</p>The author believes that all therapeutic approaches should be adapted to the unique needs of the individual client, and that the unconscious needs to be heavily considered in any therapy approach. Centred around two fascinating case studies, Gafner discusses concepts and techniques seldom addressed, including the therapists use of voice, subtle vocal shifts, the pause, the strategic interval of silence and seeding as well as the application of hypnotic techniques within standard talk therapy. He makes the case for integrating ego-strengthening in therapy, advocates ego-strengthening as a shovel-ready project" and incorporates the use of healing metaphors in therapy. As a strong supporter of evidence-based treatments, he believes that in much of real world mental health treatment we cant simply follow a manual. We must adapt treatment to the unique needs of the individual, and the more skills and tools we can bring to bear, the better for both us and our clients.