Guilford Publications Psychoanalytic Case Formulation

I really enjoyed this book. I think it is best to also buy Psychoanalytic Diagnosis from the same author in complement to this reading. I read both and they go together very well, leading to a great basic psychoanalytic understanding of personality types and what to assess with your patients.

Great book. Well packaged.

As a psychodynamic counsellor learning to do assessment interviews, I found this book enormously helpful. Engagingly written with a personal tone - as opposed to a dry, textbook approach - this book is clear, concise, practical and full of inspiration. I found I was immediately making use of McWilliams' ideas in counselling sessions as well as assessments.

Few books on *psychoanalytic* therapy offer such an excellent combination of theory and *application*. Want to know what to do in therapy once you recognize your patient's defenses, patterns, level of self-esteem, issues with affect, etc? Get this book. You do not know basic psychoanalytic tenets? The theory is there as well. Some people think this book is only for beginners. I disagree. It seems simple because McWilliams is a gifted writer and teacher, and has a knack to explain the most difficult concepts with everyday language that a 6 year old would understand. If you want an easy read with a lot of substance, read McWilliams. If you want a painful read with little substance, read Lacan (haha.) I am a beginner therapist, and this book has helped me immensely. The professor that recommended it has been practising for 35 years and *still* finds it useful. (Note: he is a renowned clinician and scholar... not just anybody) Every sentence counts. There is no superfluous material here. You get your every penny's worth of information. The book is also a page-turner--since when is a textbook supposed to be this enjoyable??? And McWilliams, who is obviously comfortable in her own skin, does not show the dogmatism that is typical in other writers. She is open to admit the usefulness of other approaches to therapy, and this very openness makes this text a useful resource for anyone interested in psychotherapy, even if they are coming from a different approach (cognitive behavioral, humanistic...).

Great help for a Psychodynamic counselling and practice foundation degree assignment on assessment and case formulation. I would recommend to others :-)