Book Review: The Art of the Psychotherapist

In The Art of the Psychotherapist, the reader will find Bugental bold and forceful from the very first page. He confronts you immediately with the fact that what you are reading about is "life changing psychotherapy", and goes on to address his words specifically towards experienced therapists, instructors, and supervisors - in fact, there are many warnings throughout the book that it may be overwhelming or confusing for the neophyte.

While making it clear that his is an existential perspective, Bugental expresses the hope that the text would be useful for any experienced therapist embarking on the artistry of life-changing psychotherapy.

The essence of the book is that Bugental sees it as essential (while not denying the struggle) to stay in contact with, and be aware of 'the subjective experience' of both the client/patient and therapist. In Bugental's words, "subjectivity is that inner, separate and private realm in which we live most genuinely...it is the autonomy of human beings which escapes the cages of objective determinism and which resides in our subjectivity".

Psychologists beware! Bugental is very passionate in his case against the objectivism of mainstream psychology and science. He is also passionate about therapist artistry, as the title suggests, focusing on the therapist as the 'primary instrument for the expression of the artistic impulse', and clearly validating the subjectivity of the therapist him/herself. He speaks of 'intersubjective communication'. When he looks at the therapeutic alliance, he sees the therapist as a 'fully alive human companion for the client'.

There is a duality to the content of the book—the philosophical combined with a rather dry, training manual format, which at times is cumbersome. While presenting his bold stance on the centrality of the subjective, as well as a wonderfully crisp understanding of many fundamental therapeutic concepts such as 'presence' (be it client or therapist), 'resistance', (probably the most useful I have read), and commitment to the process (no punches pulled!), at the same time, the content of the book necessitates a style that is at times bitty - and it is a shame to lose the fluidity found in other of Bugental's writings. However, he utilizes dialogue from his own case notes in a most instructive and detailed manner, allowing the reader to really get inside the possibilities of the specific client-therapist interaction. At the end of each chapter there's a small section entitled ' A Therapist's Journey' - very personal, very moving, often the most inspirational and thought provoking pages. To conclude, having read other of Bugental's books, I was not expecting the textbook style that I found in The Art of the Psychotherapist, but I think the book succeeds. It really does get inside the process and takes the reader from highly lucidly presented concepts right into the minutia and depth of the therapeutic encounter.

Harriett Goldenberg