(Part 2) Top products from r/psychotherapy

Hi -- I just came across your post.

You've gotten some good replies on here. To add to them, I'd just like to point out that many people who go into a psychology field for their master's degree have a different undergrad degree.

From what I understand, most schools will require you to get a certain score on either the GRE or the MAT, demonstrate that you have decent writing skills, and have a few people recommend you. Also, interviews are common. Typical interview questions often try to get a sense of your maturity, your motivations for wanting to be in the field, possibly some degree of cultural competency, and how well you can present as professional and articulate.

It sounds like you're on the right track to being an appealing candidate, especially signing up for the hotline. I'd recommend, if you haven't already, doing some reading about what the counseling process is like. This will help give you a better sense of what to expect and allow you to speak more fluently about the topic. There are a few good books on the topic to check out.

Also, if you're looking for a master's program with a more clinical focus, it might be a good idea to look at counseling programs as opposed to social work programs.

Best of luck!

Therapist here ... and as a therapist I list various specialties on my website ... but am very competent and capable in treating many conditions while using the appropriate treatment modalities. We can't "specialize" in everything. Your therapist might be great ... and just not list trauma as one of the many things he treats.

Specifically for trauma, EMDR, in my opinion, is the most effective trauma treatment, although there are may other good treatments. However, if you are just talking, you're not treating the trauma. This book may be helpful to you: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. I wish you well on your healing journey.

Hi there, chemical dependency is my area of specialization. Glad to share the field of battle with you. I'm extremely biased in that much of my work with clients is trauma-focused and attachment-based. These are the readings I recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Realm-Hungry-Ghosts-Encounters-Addiction/dp/155643880X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1538166177&sr=8-3&keywords=gabor+mate

https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Raised-Psychiatrists-Notebook-What/dp/0465094457/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538166073&sr=8-1&keywords=boy+that+was+raised+as+a+dog

Day-by-day might look different compared to settings. However, the places that I've worked consistently involved doing biopsychosocials, basic case management, referrals to appropriate levels of care, group counseling, and individual counseling.

I typically utilize psychoeducation, basic relapse prevention strategies, leveraging community support, and fundamentally just work on creating a container in the therapy space where they can feel comfortable to unpack emotions in a safe relationship.

https://store.samhsa.gov/ has plenty of free clinician and client handbooks too.

Treatment planner: https://www.amazon.com/Addiction-Treatment-Planner-DSM-5-Updates/dp/1118414756/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538166623&sr=8-2&keywords=addiction+planner

Recommending the second edition of The Heart & Soul of Change which takes a look at the common factors which seem to underlie therapeutic change and growth. I'm still in the process of reading but it's already changed my perspective on what's most important in our work. Some of the common factors they identify as important and universal to successful psychotherapy are the therapeutic-alliance/relationship, the therapist's continual elicitation of client feedback, and the therapist's genuineness - their argument is intuitive to me and they are sure to sight research backing their claims.

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In terms of who I find influential, my first thoughts are of Carl Rogers and Karen Horney!

Hey!

I am sure that you've done this, but just in case you haven't: make sure to contact the program(s) you're looking at applying to and see what that the prerequisite classes are for each. I got my masters in clinical mental health counseling and my program required a number of basic psychology courses are prereqs.

Aside from that, don't worry too much about what you don't know. If you're looking to get a jump-start you can read through a basic theories textbook (like this one) or some seminal works by notable authors in the counseling/mental health fields like Man's Search for Meaning, Cognitive Behavioral Theory, or Reality Therapy for the 21st Century.

If you don't have a background in psychology then some of these might feel a little abstract, but don't worry! You don't have to understand everything to begin exploring your interests.

I hope this is helpful!

Not Kohut himself, but a good place to start and a beautiful book.\

https://www.amazon.com/Between-Therapist-Client-New-Relationship/dp/0805071008

Full disclosure: I have not read any of these books. They are all in my Amazon Smile wish list :) Also, some are specifically for transgender issues, but some are geared toward the client or LGBTQ community. You can read them and integrate the information to support your practice.

• Gender Quest Workbook
  
  
• Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients
  
  
• Counseling LGBTI Clients
  
  
• Nurturing Queer Youth: Family Therapy Transformed
  
  
• Handbook of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in Counseling and Psychotherapy
  
  
• Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working With Gender-Variant People and Their Families
  
  
• Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community

I've found this small and easy digital recorder handy, and you can password-protect: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KBWN8L1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Best wishes!

https://www.amazon.com/Developing-Theoretical-Orientation-Counseling-Psychotherapy/dp/0133488934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494603290&sr=8-1&keywords=theoretical+orientation+psychology

Came across this on Amazon today and thought of this thread. Seems like it would be pretty helpful for students just starting out developing their orientation.

If that is what the user means I would **Highly*** suggest reading The heart and soul of change https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Soul-Change-Delivering-Therapy/dp/1433807092
It will challenge the widely held idea that a specific intervention or therapy is better for a specific disorder. It once again highlights the importance of the relationship. Check it out!

I have been meaning to read these three books - https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0199977917/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C6H928G6X7GFZR39VNF1&dpPl=1&dpID=41hjXWqrPnL (Destroying Sanctuary, Restoring Sanctuary, and Creating Sanctuary) - they seem really relevant to my own experience in community mental health - I just haven't managed to get my burned out self to the library with the documents that would allow me to get a library card. Anyway, I thought they might be useful to you, too.

Hi, I did a Masters in Mental Health and Philosophy at Warwick University, UK. It was super interesting and nearly all mental health practice is born from philosophy! This serves as a basic introduction : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Esssential-Philosophy-Psychiatry-International-Perspectives/dp/019922871X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522493706&sr=1-7&keywords=International+Perspectives+in+Philosophy+and+Psychiatry

Three references for you:

Smith, Mary Lee; Glass, Gene V; & Miller, Thomas I. (1980). The Benefits of Psychotherapy. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.

The Great Psychotherapy Debate

Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change

> https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Fidelity-Non-Looping-Adaptive-Technology/dp/B002SMJQT4/

thank you so much, I will definitely look into this option more!

I am not an expert on this question. But Bergin and Garfield's Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 6th Ed. suggests humanistic-experiential and psychodynamic psychotherapies, as well as some behavior therapies, have much more research in this realm. I suspect it's partly because they can never win the fight on the realm of number of studies establishing their efficacy (every study that therapy X does to establish that it is at least as effective as CBT contributes to the CBT literature, so therapy X will always be behind). Also it's hard to get funding for that anymore (since we already have a "well-established" therapy). Furthermore, client-centered approaches lead to client-centered research, so a bulk of their research is about how clients change. Similarly, psychodynamic therapies have wonderful deeply examined case studies that facilitate understanding at a sequential causal level how that particular person changed. Yes that's not generalizable to the population at large, but when your n=1 studies are in the hundreds (probably thousands), you have learned a lot about how people change.

I can't remember if Graham's MMPI-2 book describes Welsh codes or not...but it's my preferred reference manual overall.

Other references that I know for a fact describe Welsh codes:

My second favorite reference, Friedman's MMPI-2 book.

Nichols' MMPI-2 book also describes Welsh codes, but I wouldn't recommend it as a resource overall...he tends to run with interpretations that are clearly outside the bounds of what the current research substantiates.

Edit: Graham does briefly mention Welsh coding, only to say that "...the usefulness of these coding systems diminished, and in the revised version of the MMPI-2 manual a coding system is no longer described or recommended."

Book recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Body-Keeps-Score-Healing/dp/0670785938

If she wants to try medical cannabis, I would only recommend it if you're in a state where she can access high CBD, low THC medicine. THC can increase anxiety, and can be dependence forming. CBD doesn't create a high, but is effective for anxiety.

ETA: Be careful with Benadryl as others are suggesting. It can be habit forming when taken for anxiety/sleep, and is also linked to an increased dementia risk: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667

This thing utterly rocks, and is great for keeping the babies asleep in the same room when I have to travel.

Its adaptive, and doesn't have a set track loop, so if noise increases outside or inside near it, the device will compensate.

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https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Fidelity-Non-Looping-Adaptive-Technology/dp/B002SMJQT4/

Are you familiar with Dialectical Behavior Therapy? It was based on CBT and has a large mindfulness component. It's an empirically supported treatment for many presenting problems, as well.

This book and [this book] (https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Solution-Intense-Emotions-Personality-ebook/dp/B0197SJPDI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1523374715&sr=8-5&keywords=dbt+book) might be helpful and along the lines of what you're looking for.

If you want an updated version of person centered therapy (Roger's therapy), there is a handbook from 2013 (Handbook of Person centered therapy). It covers the classical approach as well as the new approaches like Greenberg's EFT, focusing etc...

>https://www.amazon.com/Addiction-Treatment-Planner-DSM-5-Updates/dp/1118414756/ref=sr\_1\_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538166623&sr=8-2&keywords=addiction+planner

I am also an addictions counselor and that treatment planner book is a lifesaver. I second that recommendation.

Excellent book about Kohut, Gill and Rogers.

https://www.amazon.com/Between-Therapist-Client-New-Relationship/dp/0805071008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492665846&sr=1-1&keywords=between+therapist+and+client

Excellent family therapy book on Carl Whitaker's experiential approach. Here's a link

I think The Family Crucible gives a really good perspective on working with families.

[Here] (http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Therapist-What-Say-Why/dp/1572309431) is a good one to start with.

Oh another interesting book is Women, Sex, and Addiction:


https://www.amazon.com/Women-Sex-Addiction-Search-Power/dp/0060973218

https://www.amazon.com/Skills-Training-Handouts-Worksheets-Second/dp/1572307811/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dbt+skills+training+linehan&qid=1565178986&s=gateway&sr=8-1

this?

Becoming a therapist

I did a CBT specific internship and these are the books I learned on.

Here are some books that helped me starting out:

https://www.amazon.com/Therapy-101-Modern-Psychotherapy-Techniques/dp/1572245689/ref=nodl_


https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Counseling-Techniques-Beginning-Therapists/dp/1403383278


https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Every-Counselor-Should-Know/dp/0134694899/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_2/140-3603070-6736458?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0134694899&pd_rd_r=6244c735-a8ca-477d-b6da-c7479d997978&pd_rd_w=ApuBS&pd_rd_wg=P7EIR&pf_rd_p=1c5a26b5-ed76-40f7-b20c-b5d5bd4bc6be&pf_rd_r=CB0QXMR53WBGJ8149ZZ5&psc=1&refRID=CB0QXMR53WBGJ8149ZZ5


https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Therapy-Generation-Therapists-Patients/dp/0061719617/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_3/140-3603070-6736458_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0061719617&pd_rd_r=87c54203-1b24-4fc2-a300-c79a7561e18c&pd_rd_w=F5pJ4&pd_rd_wg=m066p&pf_rd_p=6e6afc8a-fbbd-4649-97cf-4e08f5113612&pf_rd_r=DXCB9181CMTWCT0EEPTM&psc=1&refRID=DXCB9181CMTWCT0EEPTM