The Making of a Therapist
Louis Cozolino · first published 2004 · ISBN 9780393708981
Cozolino writes specifically for grad students and early practitioners, walking through the actual phases of learning: getting through your first sessions, understanding clients, and understanding yourself. He weaves neuroscience, attachment theory, and his own early experiences as a therapist into a narrative about how you become someone who can hold another person's pain. The book treats the therapist's development as a prerequisite to effective work.
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This book speaks directly to your experience as a student. It validates the confusion you feel while showing you that confusion is exactly what develops clinical wisdom. Cozolino teaches that knowing yourself is not separate from technique but foundational to it.