By Rich Simon As therapists, many of us practice in two different worlds. In the first, we see polite, well-behaved, articulate clients with solid values. They engage fully in therapy, talk cogently about their problems, listen attentively to our responses, make reasonably good-faith efforts to follow our suggestions, and sooner or later get better. No wonder we genuinely like these people! 
By Rich Simon A thousand years ago, during the palmy days of generous insurance reimbursement, therapists could maintain the illusion that, since therapy was paid for by an unseen hidden hand, clinical practice was somehow untouched by the tacky subject of money. Even the style of therapy reflected this disjunction: 
CE Credits: 3 • Price: $39So 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
© 2013 Psychotherapy Networker