Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy

Psychiatrist Yalom (emeritus, psychiatry, Stanford Univ.; Love's Executioner; When Nietzsche Wept) here offers ten cases—five each, men and women, disguised for privacy—that illustrate his humane, straightforward approach to psychotherapy. Personal, honest, sensitive, and respectful, Yalom, now in his 80s, describes frustration and mistakes amid much success. His combination of confidence and humility shows how these qualities work in psychotherapy—a process too often burdened with theory and/or mystique. Rare is the therapist equally at home with art and science: "improvising…as I marvel at the complexities and unpredictability of human thought and behavior….if I can create a genuine and caring environment my patients will find the help they need, often in marvelous ways I could never have predicted." One chapter is titled "You Must Give Up the Hope for a Better Past."