Full Description
Honesty is important in any relationship but within psychotherapy, honesty takes on a different dimension. The impact of speaking the truth has many repercussions to the therapeutic relationship and may harm the perception of the therapist in the eyes of the client or the relationship in its entirety. Thus, what are the limits of what a therapist can therapeutically share with a client? What are the implications of the therapist choosing to conceal what they congruently experience? Have therapists in the past been more able and more willing to tell the truth with their clients?
Rob Hill engages with these and many more questions, which lead into related territories - those of shame, power, love and hate, narcissism, intersubjectivity and madness - and invites the reader to consider them from a fresh perspective. Presented in essay form interspersed with 'stories' which focus on Hill's inner reactions to working with various clients, the book seeks to evoke curiosity and contemplation rather than definitive answers.
Using language that is personalised and 'immediate' rather than academic and abstract, Hill hopes to engage all therapists, including those who rarely read academic and research literature. Telling the Truth is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, and accessible read that raises many important ideas. Rob Hill's own honesty, insight, and openness in addressing this important topic makes this essential reading for practising therapists.
Contents
Acknowledgements
About the author
Prologue
1. 'Hesitating' - Part I
2. The love of truth
3. 'Hesitating' - Part II
4. Telling the truth in everyday life
5. Types of truth and truthtelling
6. 'Things left unsaid'
7. Truthtelling and power I: In the royal palace
8. Truthtelling and power II: In the therapy room
9. 'Are you going to shoot me?'
10. Shame, privacy, and awe
11. Narcissism: What truth must not touch
12. Truthtelling, love, and hate
13. 'Let me know when you trust me'
14. The impact of not speaking: Fatigue and madness
15. Narcissism again: Taking possession of the truth
16. Beyond narcissism: Sharing the truth
17. 'What's The Point Of Me?'
18. The craft of truthtelling
19. Styles of truthtelling: Provocation or attunement
20. The last essay
Notes
