Designed especially for students and mental health professionals in the early stages of their careers, this primer is a practical guide to psychotherapy --

Every new therapist faces a first session, often with trepidation. How do they prepare for that first session? How do they know what tools to apply on that first day, and over those first few weeks? Beginnings in Psychotherapy will help readers to begin to answer those questions and start psychotherapy with increased confidence. In addition it will provide readers with an understanding of the foundational tools and background, as well as providing a comfort level with the new territory of becoming a therapist. In a conversational, accessible tone, the author shares his years of experience, without being dogmatic or dense. Instead, he engages readers warmly, immediately helps them expand their understanding and often helps them look at the pros and cons of certain decisions, without insisting that the readers follow a particular rule or policy.

The new edition of Relational Psychotherapy offers a theory that’s immediately applicable to everyday practice, from opening sessions through intensive engagement to termination. In clear, engaging prose, the new edition makes explicit the ethical framework implied in the first edition, addresses the major concepts basic to relational practice, and elucidates the lessons learned since the first edition's publication. It’s the ideal guide for beginning practitioners but will also be useful to experienced practitioners and to clients interested in the therapy process.

For many patients, supportive therapy is the treatment of choice, and for many others, the use of medications or of more expressive techniques optimally occurs in the context of a supportive relationship. Yet, there is a paucity of literature expressly devoted to the techniques and aims of supportive psychotherapy. In A Primer of Supportive Psychotherapy, Henry Pinsker remedies this situation by focusing directly on the rationale for, and techniques of, supportive psychotherapy. He explores this modality as a form of dyadic intervention quite distinct from expressive psychotherapies, and also shows how, to varying extents, supportive psychotherapy makes use of patterns of relationships and behavior, past and present. Pinsker's writing is wise, human, and direct. The realities, ironies, conundrums, and opportunities of the therapeutic encounter are vividly portrayed in scores of illustrative dialogues drawn from actual treatments. Destined to become the classic introductory work in the field, A Primer of Supportive Psychotherapy will be valued by students and trainees in all mental health disciplines--and by their teachers--for its wealth of practical guidelines and explicit instruction on how to develop, maintain, and make optimal therapeutic use of a supportive relationship. Psychopharmacologists, counselors, nurse practitioners, and primary care physicians are among the helping professionals who will likewise benefit from Pinsker's clear presentation of the principles of supportive work. Beyond its didactic value, this text will be an indispensable conceptual touchstone for any clinician interested in understanding more clearly the differences among various interventional modalities as a preliminary step in optimal treatment planning.

Everything you need to know to record client intake, treatment, and progress—incorporating the latest managed care, accrediting agency, and government regulations Paperwork and record keeping are day-to-day realities in your mental health practice. Records must be kept for managed care reimbursement; for accreditation agencies; for protection in the event of lawsuits; to meet federal HIPAA regulations; and to help streamline patient care in larger group practices, inpatient facilities, and hospitals. The standard professionals and students have turned to for quick and easy, yet comprehensive, guidance to writing a wide range of mental health documents, the Fourth Edition of The Psychotherapy Documentation Primer continues to reflect HIPAA and accreditation agency requirements as well as offer an abundance of examples. Fully updated to include diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5, The Psychotherapy Documentation Primer, 4th Edition is designed to teach documental skills for the course of psychotherapy from the initial interview to the discharge. The documentation principles discussed in the text satisfy the often-rigid requirements of third-party insurance companies, regulating agencies, mental health licensing boards, and federal HIPAA regulations. More importantly, it provides students and professionals with the empirical and succinct documentation techniques and skills that will allow them to provide clear evidence of the effects of mental health treatment while also reducing the amount of their time spent on paperwork.