books Archives - Psychotherapy Notes

Three books every couple therapist should read

December 20, 2018December 19, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

I’ve been doing couple therapy (not “couples therapy”) for almost 20 years now, going back to my time as a graduate student. I truly enjoy the work. It’s enriching in countless ways, one of which is the amount of time I get to spend learning about and thinking about how romantic relationships are built and sustained. While my couples have taught me a great deal, I’ve also learned from some great books that take the mechanics of couple relationships and either break them down or bring them to life.

Here are, in just one therapist’s opinion, three books every couple therapist should read.

Preorder Preparing for the 2019 California MFT Law & Ethics Exam

December 3, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

I’ll say it: Our California MFT Law & Ethics Exam prep books kick ass. They’re efficient and effective, and our customers have loved them since they first came out.

But they’re also a little long in the tooth, you know? Laws change quickly, and we’ve seen some significant changes since our blue book first came out in 2015. Our green book (Practice Tests) came out in 2016, and it could use a refresh as well.

So we thought, as we tend to do around here, let’s go big. Sure, we’ve launched a very useful video-based online prep program for the California MFT Law and Ethics Exam, which is less than half the cost of programs offered by our competitors. But we know that a lot of folks still prefer good old-fashioned paper, and if you’re in that group, we’ve got your back.

Why you should read Saving Psychotherapy, in two charts

September 27, 2015August 31, 2015 by Ben Caldwell

My new book, Saving Psychotherapy, will be officially released September 22 [Update: Here it is!]. An edited excerpt about licensing exams is available here. Another excerpt focused on student debt appeared in the January/February 2015 issue of AAMFT’s Family Therapy Magazine (it starts on page 26).

I could spend a lot of time convincing you why you should read the book, but I think these two charts will be sufficient.

“Becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist: 24 Essays” available now

October 21, 2014April 4, 2013 by Ben Caldwell

My new book offers straightforward, practical guidance on becoming an MFT and developing in the family therapy field.

The book is mostly a collection of the most popular posts from this blog, though it concludes with a special essay about the future of the field for those just at the beginning of their careers in it. That essay is less a crystal ball and more a call to action (emphasis added):

The more I learned about the history of marriage and family therapy, the more I came to see its early trailblazers as activists and rebels. We would not even have a profession of family therapy if the Virginia Satirs, Murray Bowens, or Jay Haleys of the world had been satisfied with the status quo. The future of family therapy depends on the next generation of MFTs being similarly unsatisfied with simply following in the footsteps of those who came before. We need loud, passionate voices who share their views beyond their clinic walls. We need loud, passionate voices who know that improving the health of individuals means working to change relationships and families, and that improving the health of families means working to change communities and societies. And we need loud, passionate voices who know that creating change – doing therapy – works differently on those different levels.

It’s worth reading. The whole thing is. It makes an especially good gift for those new to the MFT profession or considering becoming a family therapist. But, of course I would say that. I’m biased.

“24 Essays” is available now for Kindle (and less than 10 bucks!), which has the added benefit of preserving all the active links from the original blog posts. Additional formats to come in the next few weeks; rather than do a separate post each time a new format becomes available, I’ll simply announce them on my Facebook page and my Twitter feed.