What Therapists Don't Talk about and Why: Understanding Taboos That Hurt Us and Our Clients

This book was created to help therapists and therapists-in-training explore the myths and taboo topics that weaken their practice and cause anxiety, discomfort, and confusion. Some of these topics include feeling incompetent; making mistakes; getting caught off guard by fee entanglements; becoming enraged at patients; managing illness; understanding sexual arousal and impulses; praying with patients as part of therapy; feeling ashamed; being fired; and not knowing what to do. The book discusses the damaging myths that therapists seem to hold about themselves that sustain the taboo topics. By offering questions for self-assessment and a series of explorations that can be used to examine taboo topics individually or in groups, the book provides resources for recognizing the myths, challenging the taboos, and speaking honestly and directly with patients and others about topics that have been off-limits.