This second edition of Mastering the Inner Skills of Psychotherapy presents deliberate practice exercises that help professionals and trainees develop the resilience and flexibility they need to be good therapists. Clients often arouse strong emotional reactions in therapists. Sometimes this is termed experiential avoidance or countertransference. Therapists must work hard to build their psychological capacity to stay self-aware, attuned, and clinically flexible even as they experience strong responses to their clients' words and actions. This book provides clear and practical deliberate practice exercises to help readers identify, develop, and master the inner skills necessary to be effective therapists. It features a clear and concise training plan that is based on the principles of deliberate practice. The plan can be adapted for use with all major models of psychotherapy, and it can serve as a lifeline for psychotherapists at all levels of experience, from trainees to seasoned professionals.
