Current Psychotherapies

by Danny Wedding, Raymond J. Corsini

Now in its eleventh edition and used in top Counseling, Psychology and Social Work programs, CURRENT PSYCHOTHERAPIES helps you learn, compare and apply the major systems of psychotherapy in a way that will be meaningful in your future practice. Every chapter is written by either an originator or a leading proponent of a system. Each of these distinguished figures describes the basic principles of the system and highlights how it differs from other systems. A case example in every theory chapter guides you through the problem, evaluation, treatment and follow-up process. A companion volume, CASE STUDIES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, is available in this title's MindTap; it offers detailed cases that illustrate the basic techniques and methods of each theory.

Genres: Psychology, Textbooks, Read For School

640 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2018

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A POPULAR TEXTBOOK WHICH IS A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY

The Introduction to this 6th Edition (2000) states, "Corsini [2000] listed 250 different systems of psychotherapy, but currently there are probably more than 400 such systems. Just as there are some religions that are well known and well acccepted, so too, some psychotherapies are well known and well accepted. And just as there are religions viewed as unorthodox and absurd, there are systems of psychotherapy that exist on the fringe of traditional approaches." (Pg. 10)

They admit, "Unfortunately, no adequate study exists evaluating the results of psychoanalytic therapy. In a general way, this is true of almost all forms of psychotherapy. There are just too many variables to be taken into account to make it possible to establish a controlled, statistically valid study of the outcome of the therapy...

"In any individual case, evaluation of the outcome has to be judged in a global fashion. Comparisons are made between the situation at the beginning of treatment and the conditions of the patient's life and symptoms at termination. The patient may have been cured of more conditions than he or she initially complained about, and previously unforeseen possibilities of self-fulfillment may have been realized... In the face of objective reality, the claims of psychoanalysis must be modest. At best, psychoanalysis tries to help the patient effect the best possible solution that circumstances will allow." (Pg. 40)

They observe, "Behavior therapy has had a profound impact on the field of psychotherapy. An important measure of the influence of behavior therapy is the degree to which psychotherapists use cognitive-behavioral principles and procedures in their clinical practice... As the twentieth century ends, it seems likely that behavior therapy techniques will be increasingly used to treat a broad range of psychological problems." (Pg. 211)

They note, "There are hundreds of different schools of psychological thought and practice... When examining the claims and counterclaims of their proponents, one discerns a number of trends of clusters. Some advocate particular techniques or procedures and tout them as virtual panaceas. Thus, one finds relaxation pundits, meditation gurus, scream advocates, and promulgators of megavitamins, hypnosis, psychodrama, rebirthing, or other unimodal interventions. These one-track procedures are the antithesis of multimodal therapy, which views human disquietude as multilayered and multileveled and calls for the correction of deviant behaviors, unpleasant feelings, negative sensations, intrusive images, irrational beliefs, stressful relationships, and physiological difficulties. Yet multimodal therapy is equally opposed to those theoretical eclectics who endeavor to unite the morass of competing systems, models, vocabularies, and personal idiosyncrasies into a unified whole, thus ending up with a conglomerate of incompatible and contradictory notions." (Pg. 344)

This often-revised textbook is an excellent, up-to-date resource on the various different types of therapy currently available.

[Taylor Caruso - Bucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Master's Student I read each chapter and was mostly enlightened by the authors explanations of each psychotherapy. However, felt it lacked some critical therapies to cover as well as going more in-depth of each therapy beyond a baccalaureate level of understanding and summarization. Over all the text was easy to understand and read.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I like that it covered the history of each theoretical orientation, and discussed each facet of it in detail. I also like that it covered a lot of the techniques in each theory - would have loved to see more examples of specific interventions, though.

[Kony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required for therapy school. Informative and has its moments. Overall, IMO, more academic and verbose than it needs to be.

[Brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot as a first semester graduate student studying to become a therapist. But, the text is wordy and confusing and difficult to understand. Written like a medical text.

[Nikki Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book for understanding the different psychotherapies and how you would apply them. Wonderful starting point for deciding what you want to use in your practice!

[Michael Chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

You might as well just read the Wikipedia entries on the various psychotherapies described, because it really doesn't go much deeper than that.

EDIT August 2023: Chat-GPT 4 has much better answers than anything this book provides.