The Presence of the Therapist

The Presence of the Therapist uses clinical studies based on the author's publications over the past 18 years to illustrate work with severely distressed children. The reader is encouraged to enter a dialogue with the author to explore the many dilemmas and difficulties of working with a person who has become highly defensive or fearful as a result of what has happened to them. This book is a highly stimulating account of psychotherapeutic practice. It facilitates careful and broad thought about the therapeutic process and relationship that will improve clinical practice. The practical advice on how to survive in this demanding work will be of great benefit to all psychotherapists.

Monica Lanyado is a psychoanalytic child and adolescent psychotherapist. She is co-editor, with Ann Horne, of The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Approaches.

Part I: The Presence of the Therapist. The Presence of the Therapist and the Process of Therapeutic Change. Beyond Words: The Quiet Presence of the Therapist. Variations on the Theme of Transference and Counter-transference. Struggling with Perversion and Chaos in the Therapeutic Process: The Need for the Patient to 'Know' the Therapist. Part II: Transition and Change. Transition and Change. Psychotherapy with Children in Transition from Fostering to Adoption: A Question of Technique. The Story of Lot's Wife: The Importance of the Therapist's 'Personal Signature' at Times of Critical Change. Holding and Letting Go: Some Thoughts About Ending Therapy. Monica Lanyado's Published Work.