R120: The Therapeutic Virtues: What Makes a Good Therapist Good?

So what are the qualities of heart and mind that enable certain clinicians to open the widest range of healing possibilities for their clients? In this Reading Course, five of the most respected figures in the field each focus on a prime therapeutic virtue in offering their perspective on what it means to be "a good therapist." Ron Taffel argues that therapy is grounded in curiosity about the minutiae of people's lives. Molly Layton describes the Janus-like nature of clinical attentiveness. Betty Carter examines the wide-angle lens required of the systemic therapist. Frank Pittman argues that the essence of good therapy is the ability to turn tragedy into comedy. Ken Hardy explores the importance of facing the truth of opposing realities.

Course Readings

The Good Therapist: Continually Reassessing Its Role, Psychotherapy Gallops into a New Era by William Doherty & Mary Sykes Wylie

Embracing Both/And by Kenneth V. Hardy

Focusing Your Wide Angle Lens by Betty Carter

Honoring the Everyday by Ron Taffel

Mastering Mindfulness by Molly Layton

Turning Tragedy into Comedy by Frank Pittman

Learning Objectives

1. Plan interventions that shift the client to "both/and" thinking
2. Discuss the importance of community to clients' well-being
3. Name three "detail" questions to ask client families
4. Develop mindful attentiveness in session