Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness

Author(s) : Emmy Van Deurzen

Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness

Book Details

  • Publisher : Sage
  • Published : January 2009
  • Cover : Paperback
  • Pages : 192
  • Category :
    Existential therapy
  • Catalogue No : 27637
  • ISBN 13 : 9780761944119
  • ISBN 10 : 0761944117
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The unspoken yearning that brings people to therapy is often that of a desperate desire for happiness. Should therapists ignore this desire, interpret it or challenge it? And what does our preoccupation with happiness tell us about contemporary culture and the role of the therapist? In this book, Emmy van Deurzen addresses the taboo subject of the moral role of psychotherapists and counselors. Asking when and why we decided that the aim of life is to be happy, she poses searching questions about the meaning of life. "Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness" seeks to define what a good life consists of and how therapists might help their clients to live well rather than just in search of happiness. This text makes stimulating reading for all trainee and practicing counselors and psychotherapists, especially those interested in the existential approach.

Reviews and Endorsements

'A vibrant, passionate, and hugely readable text which goes to the heart of the therapeutic project: how to help clients lead fuller and more meaningful lives'
- Mick Cooper, Professor of Counseling at University of Strathclyde

Contents
Introduction: Happiness and Psychotherapy
Opening Pandora's Box: Values and Beliefs in Psychotherapy
The Good Life: Philosophy as a Guide to Therapy
Positive Psychology: A Science of Well Being
Predictable Difficulties: Everyday Challenges
Life Crisis: Triumph over Trauma
Speech is Silver and Silence Golden: Feelings Remain Unspoken
The Meaning of Being: Beyond the Quest for Happiness
Conclusion
Reference
Index

About the Author(s)

Emmy van Deurzen is Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Conflict and Reconciliation, and Honorary Professor at the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield.

More titles by Emmy Van Deurzen

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