selor.

Yes, I wrote one... 

It’s the accumulation of 41 years of being a shrink and dealing with zillions of different types of people, personal problems, and the mental health business itself—that would be insurance companies, good and bad patients, and social media. Of course, my biggest take away is from the clinical day-to-day co-habiting of people’s not-very-happy minds.

Every patient I’ve ever seen is in this book, either directly as a case, or indirectly, as in having some syndrome or complaint that others had.   Of course, I’ve changed names, ages, races, situations, geography, and everything else, so there is no breach of confidentiality.   But each patient in the book--and there are hundreds--is real.   Their suffering and the cures we created are real.   The failures are also in this book--the patient's and sometimes mine as a therapist. I’ve discussed what is in the book with other clinicians.   They all nod their heads in agreement. so I know what I say is true.   Mine is a tough profession.

Many subjects in this book are "difficult." They are about intimate, in-depth human experiences. A lot are controversial. There are sections on dating, dating sites, how to fix relationships (of all kinds), self-esteem (how to fix that), personality disorders (how usually not to fix those, but I’ve had exceptions). The two most common presenting complaints in outpatent private practice are depresson and anxiety. You'll find tons of discussion on how to fix those. Clients also want to know about hard-to-navigate subjects.   There are chapters on what I call “Touchy Subjects” that include in-depth office discussions of politics, homosexuality, transgender issues, religion, abortion, money, lawyers, good vs. bad therapists,  CWS (formerly CPS), firearms, gender equality, the paranormal, aging,  end of life issues, and, ultimately, death. There's a detailed section on sex. (The book is not pornographic, but it is clinical, and should be read only by people who are curious about all things psychological, and--bottom line--are mature.)

This is a heavy book, long but in depth.   You can read almost any section, one at a time, most in any order.  Pick the subjects you like and read those. Skip the rest. (The two most popular sections are on Sex and Humor.) Speaking of the latter, to lighten it up, I put in a chapter on humor, with a lot of therapeutic examples that make everybody laugh.   Think of it as a seventh inning stretch. I have a sense of humor, and use it liberally (helps navigate those tough subjects with a little well-placed mirth).  My subject matter needs it--right in the middle of the book. Patients love it. I don't think other books on this subject do this.

Lastly, I’ve seen 10,000 patients in my time.   I did the math. That’s an actual number. I spent three hours every Saturday morning for almost six years writing this book.   It’s not A.I.   It’s me, every word of it.   I wrote it thinking I’d retire first, and then when people came down on me for my opinions/experiences, it wouldn’t matter. (I expect a lot of "feedback," so, bring it on...) But, I decided not to retire just yet, because I still have mouths to feed, but more importantly, working keeps my mind active, and I still love what I do.  

There are three ways to buy the book.