Book Reviews

In the United States, ruled by an unsustainable culture of big businesses, politics, and greed, we are insatiable. Constantly searching for more nourishment, we are never full. Everyone is living in this perpetual state of emergency, but we still feel alone in the struggle. In the United States, ruled by an unsustainable culture of big businesses, politics, and greed, we are insatiable. Constantly searching for more nourishment, we are never full. Everyone is living in this perpetual state of emergency, but we still feel alone in the struggle. In The Smell of Rain on Dust: Grief and Praise, Martín Prechtel coalesces ancient wisdom and modern life. We seem to be far from our ancient roots, but Prechtel reconnects us by exploring issues such as war, money, and politics through the lens of a shaman and offers an invitation to heal our distressed souls through grief and praise.

Trauma is pervasive in our lives, from smaller situations that trigger feelings of inability and fear to larger catastrophes that render our entire being useless as we careen out of control. Be it a result of human inflicted acts of violence—war, terrorism, genocide— or the result of natural occurrences such as hurricanes, tsunamis, and wild fires that leave us feeling victimized, isolated, abandoned, people walk through their lives numb to their reality. Their senses are overwhelmed; scenes flash in as if happening now, not then. People exist in the past as if it is the present. And when these people become our clients, when in fact these people are in part, ourselves, we, as therapists, need to offer hope and possibility to move from then to now, to live a better quality of life than what we are experiencing in the current moment. But, how?

Jaime Lowe’s memoir chronicles her struggles with bipolar disorder and explores lithium: the medication that saved her life but also caused her body irreparable harm. A story full of progress and setbacks, stability and mania, and hope and desolation, Lowe’s book is emotionally tumultuous. Written colloquially and free of highly scientific content, this book can cater to a wide audience. Though it is specifically useful and relevant for people who are bipolar and/or utilizing lithium medication, it’s also helpful for anyone who wants to understand these two things better. Lowe’s book offers both a raw and honest account of what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder and important information about lithium to provide a holistic understanding of her journey. 

The book represents a step toward more effective standards and practices and it might prove it to be, even for those professionals who feel they don’t need overt tools for self-diagnosis, an important entry in the contemporary discourse about psychotherapeutic practice.

I sat down to read Contemplative Psychotherapy Essentials with an agenda in mind. I felt rushed to get through the chapter yet found myself slowing, breathing. I settled into the chair. The have-to-do’s vanished. I was simply and completely present with the text. Wegela offers quotes from other Buddhist teachers, case examples from clients and students. Terms are defined and demonstrated. The material is accessible, user-friendly. A true invitation to not only read about but to also personally experience it, try it out, let it flow within and through.

Ever wonder why a fight with your significant other deteriorates into a middle school shouting match? Or why a contentious conversation with a parent throws you into a temper tantrum? Chances are you are experiencing reality in one of many different ego states.

If we put blinders on, if we ignore the entirety of a person’s experience, including the impact of our own background, our own sense of have and have not, we are setting up yet another dysfunctional experience.

Winston’s new guide offers helpful advice for both novice meditators and experienced meditators looking to improve their practice. The concept of "natural awareness" can seem vague at times, and Winston repeatedly defines it throughout the book. However, her “glimpse” exercises and anecdotes help the guide feel more engaging and the concept of natural awareness to feel more accessible.

I’ve encountered Stanley Keleman’s work many times during my transition from teacher to therapist. And, I can honestly say I always walk away with a deeper sense of me in my entirety, me as embodied energy in human form, shaped as much by thought and reflection as act and reaction. An awareness lingers beyond the momentary meeting that tugs at the corners of my existence as if saying, come on, wake up now, be present in this body of yours and let it inform you just as you inform it.

Alexandra Katehakis’ book dives into the foundations of sex addiction and the best possible treatment of it through a neurobiological lense. Informed by her own experiences and therapeutic journey as well as her work as a psychotherapist, Katehakis offers her own conception of an approach to treatment called Psychobiological Approach to Sex Addiction Treatment (PASAT). PASAT combines “cognitive-behavioral containment of addiction, transpersonal psychology expanding the self beyond the individual, and emotionally regulating, intuitive, and relation-based psychotherapy informed by affective neuroscience” (4). The target audience is mainly psychotherapists as the book hones in on PASAT and how to utilize it, but it can also be appreciated by those dealing with sex addiction, whether they’re in recovery or not. Through Katehakis’ detailed examination of sex addiction as a legitimate disorder and her resulting treatment plan, it is clear that she is deeply passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. The book opens with a foreword by Allan N. Schore followed by Katehakis’s introduction where she touches on her journey to becoming a psychotherapist and provides an overview of the book. She describes a deeply traumatic experience of her own that drew me in. My attention was captured by her explanation of her personal connection to psychotherapy; it humanizes her and serves as a way to broach the topic of psychotherapeutic treatment.