Questions About Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

by Lori Gottlieb (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (21)

Has anyone figured out what "John"'s TV show is?

PATRICK How I Met Your Mother ... since,

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) is main character described by Ted Mosby character as "High functioning sociopath"
Sitcom,…moreHow I Met Your Mother ... since,

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) is main character described by Ted Mosby character as "High functioning sociopath"
Sitcom, that won multiple Emmy awards
Lily and Marshall use superstitious acts to try to get pregnant and determine the sex of the baby - Marshall wants a boy
Written about in NYT
Timeline of show compatible(less)

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I'd love to know other psychotherapists' opinions on this book. Any licensed clinical therapists out there with some insight/assessment those of outside of the profession are unlikely to have?

Pat Haber I was a practicing psychotherapist also, and feel like she just nailed it. Read my review! she was able to explain and verbalize about what the proces…moreI was a practicing psychotherapist also, and feel like she just nailed it. Read my review! she was able to explain and verbalize about what the process is, how the therapist thinks and feels, and shows the great empathy for her clients that we all (hopefully) should feel. as i said in my review, i read it aloud with my significant other, who is a scientist type of guy, and he loved it too. he could see my world, but also, gain knowledge of himself.(less)

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I really, really enjoyed this book, but my question is: how was Gottlieb able to write so freely and her patients and their issues? I am assuming that all names have been changed and she also might have changed some specific characteristics and gotten permission, but I'm just curious how this all worked?

Kathy I just finished reading and I have very mixed feelings about this book. I listened to Lori Gottlieb's interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air" and wa…moreI just finished reading and I have very mixed feelings about this book. I listened to Lori Gottlieb's interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air" and was surprised and rather shocked to hear that she asks for written permission up front from her clients, providing she protects their identities. Some decide not to work with her as a result. This, she says, is because she's in the unique position of being a writer before she became a therapist. But this seems very odd to me. It feels coercive to demand this up front. I think it's fine to ask for permission once you've established a relationship, but this feels a bit like her patients are fodder for her writing. (less)

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Does anyone have any recommendations for books similar to this one, where a therapist discusses her cases and her thoughts as she handles them? Not as extreme as Oliver Sacks' work, where the cases are more severe, but more day-to-day therapy.

Ember “Good Morning, Monster” by Catherine Gildiner.

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I’m a little annoyed at this book questioning /affirming whether John, the author ‘s bf for two years, is a sociopath. Wouldn’t she, seemingly being a competent psychotherapist, surely be able to make that dx herself, especially upon reflection which she proclaimed to do a lot of thereafter his breakup announcement ?

Kumari de Silva I don't think she meant she actually finds him to be an actual sociopath. I think she was saying that in the non-DSM slang type way women (and men) do…moreI don't think she meant she actually finds him to be an actual sociopath. I think she was saying that in the non-DSM slang type way women (and men) do when they are just trying to say some thing with hyperbole because they are mad and hurt and hurting. And I think this because she makes a point of saying this is the sort of thing she says when angry, overwhelmed and terribly upset about the breakup with her friend Jen who is acting the role of "friend" not acting in the role of therapist. (less)

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