James F. T. Bugental

The Art of the Psychotherapist

How to develop the skills that take psychotherapy beyond science.

This book is dedicated to the proposition that life-changing psychotherapy requires therapist and patient alike to give high priority to the subjective—the patient's first of all, the therapist's nearly as importantly. Bugental's purpose is not to create a new psychotherapeutic system or methodology, but to aid therapists of various orientations who intend doing depth, life-changing work to extend the range and power of their own perspectives and styles.

"James Bugental is not only a born therapist but also one who seeks indefatigably to learn more about the inner aspects of therapy. I think he is entirely right that the subjective area is the locale for improving the project of therapy. This book is a log of what he has learned. He shares here material which should be a stimulus to us all."—Rollo May, Ph.D.

"An extraordinarily useful book. Its task is to illuminate the inner, intimate aspects of therapy that most therapists find too subtle and complex to translate into language. Using an imaginative array of clinical examples and personal reflections, James Bugental, a master therapist and teacher, has succeeded marvelously in describing the art of psychotherapy. This book has vigor, courage, practicality and lucidity, but above all, it has wisdom. I know of no psychotherapist who would not be enriched by reading it."—Irvin D. Yalom, M.D., professor of psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine