The collection of ten absorbing tales by master psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom uncovers the mysteries, frustrations, pathos, and humor at the heart of the therapeutic encounter.

In recounting his patients' dilemmas, Yalom not only gives us a rare and enthralling glimpse into their personal desires and motivations but also tells us his own story as he struggles to reconcile his all-too human responses with his sensibility as a psychiatrist. Not since Freud has an author done so much to clarify what goes on between a psychotherapist and a patient.

Dr. Yalom helps his patients come to terms with their problems and move forward to a happier more productive life. This textbook emphatically stresses "the therapist's job is not to make someone better, but to help the patient make themselves better."

Author Biography

Irvin D. Yalom, M. D., is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Stanford University, and lives and practices in Palo Alto, California