The Talking Cure: The Science Behind Psychotherapy

by Susan C. Vaughan

A psychoanalyst explores the ways in which the process and mechanisms of therapy shape and alter the brain, the way psychotherapy works, and its effects on human interaction with the world around.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Science

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 1997

Reviews

[Erin O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really insightful and true. Bit too real so I had to limit myself to one chapter at a time. Everyone should read this

[Lora Shouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not quite the book I was expecting, this was nevertheless an excellent book. It is based on the premise that psychotherapy can make long-lasting changes in the neurons that make up your mind, and in the pathways between them.

Just as taking psychiatric medications can change your brain – at least temporarily – undergoing talk therapy can make changes in your neural pathways. It will likely take longer but may be more permanent in the long run. She gives case histories and cites numerous examples of recent (as of the time of writing) studies illustrating this point.

And, in fact, in this book as in most of the other psychologically or psychiatrically oriented books I have read recently, it seems good psychiatric care is likely to involve a balance of both methods depending on what is appropriate to the person.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Susan Vaughan takes us on a journey through how psychoanalytic psychotherapy helps change our minds, and by extension, the way we live. She painstakingly and with a light, often humorous touch shows how the relationship and repeated contact between therapist and patient works better than Prozac as it sets down new pathways in the brain. Using research from the latest developments in neuroscience as well as revealing her own inner process while working with patients, she presents a variety of patient-therapist situations in which the reader sees the psychotherapeutic process at work. A good book for new therapy patients to read.

[Stepher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The science behind the concept of psychotherapy and why it can be effective was very interesting. The author/therapist who seemed to be almost mocking her clients was not.

[Cate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similar to Blink, integrates a lot of research and condenses into a highly readable book that makes sense of the psychotherapy process.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slim volume that could have been so much more. eh.
More science, less self-revalation, please.