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A classic work from Nina Coltart revitalised with a brand-new foreword by David E. Scharff with down-to-earth advice on how to run a practice, the pleasures – and pains – of psychotherapy, vivid clinical stories of success and failure, and discussion on the work/life balance. This book is for all psychotherapists, trainees, and those with an interest in therapy.
*Special offers* We are offering the following fantastic deals for fans of Nina Coltart’s work: buy all three print books together for £50! That’s a saving of £17.97! Or if you’d rather have the e-books, it’s £32.43 – a saving of £19.04. Or, if you’d like them all in both formats, take advantage of our special ‘bundle’ deals and buy all six for £56.00 – a saving of £17.97! Just place them all in your basket and the discount will be taken automatically.
Take a look at her other two classic books: Slouching towards Bethlehem … and Further Psychoanalytical Explorations and The Baby and the Bathwater
| Author | Nina Coltart |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781912691104 |
| Format | Paperback, e-Book, Print & e-Book |
| Page Extent | 162 |
| Publication Date | November 2020 |
| Subject Areas | Counselling, Psychoanalytic Theory, Psychotherapy |
Not simply a “how to” manual, this compact book is an amalgam of down-to-earth practicality about assessment, the pleasures of psychotherapy as opposed to analysis, details of how to run a practice, vivid clinical stories which don’t necessarily turn out well, discussions of Buddhism, and an autobiographical finale on the balance between life and work, including Coltart’s choice to live alone. Written in deceptively simple language, it reads easily and encourages beginners, but its backbone is the accrued wisdom for a career containing “survival-with-enjoyment” that offers new perspectives to both mid-career and experienced therapists and teachers.
The professional autobiographical quality of the book reveals a lot about Coltart: her love of psychotherapy over full analysis and the number of strictures in analysis that she feels bind rather than guide. She describes the first years, in training and beyond, as full of anxiety: trying to get things right whilst an inner critical voice and the judgement of supervisors and teachers hangs over it all. Slowly, as time goes by, the ability to relax into a career with confidence in one’s own voice, knowledge, and intuition leads to a capacity for enjoyment of what can seem to outsiders a grim profession dealing only with suffering.
Coltart’s book celebrates psychotherapy and its practitioners, and is full of interesting and practical advice that both experienced and novice psychotherapists will find invaluable. This enduring classic has stood the test of time and should be a feature of every aficionado’s bookshelf.
Nina Coltart was “one of the most admired and liked psychoanalysts in Britain. For 35 years she was an active member of the British and international psychoanalytic community and she played a major role in extending the influence of analytic ideas outside that world.” (A. H. Brafman, “Obituary: Nina Coltart”, Independent, 18 August 1997)
She was born in London in 1927 and passed away in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire in 1997. She read Modern Languages at Somerville College, Oxford, but went on to train as a doctor, qualifying in 1957 at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. After qualification, she worked as a psychiatrist but found more interest in her patients’ emotions and experiences than medical conditions. Thus, in 1961, she set up in private practice as a psychotherapist, concurrently training as a psychoanalyst with the British Psychoanalytical Society. She qualified in 1964 as an associate member, became a full member in 1969, and a training analyst in the Independent Group in 1971.
A dynamic representative of the international psychoanalytic community, teaching and lecturing and also helping to administer various psychotherapy trainings, Dr Coltart went beyond the usual confines to bring analytic ideas to the wider world. She taught extensively for the British Society on a series of courses, especially those concerned with questions of assessment and analysability. She built up an extensive consultation and referral service, concentrating on diagnosis and assessment for analytical therapy and for psychoanalysis. From 1972 to 1982, she was Director of the London Clinic, which interviews and assesses potential training cases for students of the British Society. She was Vice-President of the British Society and Chairman of its Board and Council from 1984 to 1987. She retired in 1994.
Dr Coltart published numerous papers in psychotherapy journals and three books: Slouching Towards Bethlehem… And Further Psychoanalytic Explorations (1992), How to Survive as a Psychotherapist (1993), and The Baby and the Bathwater (1996), which are all reissued by Phoenix.
Acknowledgements
About the author
Foreword by David E. Scharff
Introduction
1. Survival-with-enjoyment
2. Psychoanalysis vs psychotherapy?
3. Apparent trivia
4. Paradoxes
5. The pleasures of assessment
6. The art of assessment
7. Stranger than fiction …
8. Leisure and living
Further reading
Index
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Amazon review: Lucinda Stern, May 2012 –
5/5 stars: Real, practical and wise advice for therapists
This book is good for anyone embarking on a career as a counsellor or psychotherapist. Other books tell you all the theory, this book deals with the more practical side, the pitfalls of a sedentary career, how to deal with tricky situations in the consulting room etc. It could make for a fairly mundane read, but Coltart uses examples from her own work, bringing the book alive. I found it quite witty and laughed aloud at points (though I also found the Bell Jar funny, so that might say more about me than this book!). I read it before whilst working as a student counsellor and found myself taking her up on her advice. It also led me to the rest of Coltart’s work.
Amazon review: Janet Walker, June 2011 –
5/5 stars: Excellent for any new therapist
This is well written and accessible. A good in sight into what it is to be a therapist. I would recommend this to anyone in training.
Amazon review: Wayne Hamilton, May 2015 –
5/5 stars
An exemplary resource for students and new therapists alike. Coltarts supreme use of wit and concise language makes this an enlightening and informative read. It is something I will read again from time to time at different stages of my career in psychotherapy.
Amazon review: Diana Thomas, August 2014 –
5/5 stars
Interesting and down to earth approach.