Diary of a Country Therapist

Description

Gain remarkable insight about practicing therapy in a rural community! In Diary of a Country Therapist, Dr. Marcia Hill chronicles more than a decade of her thoughts and feelings about practicing therapy in rural Vermont. The author reveals her empathy for her clients, her frustration in money matters, and her anger at the maltreatment of women. This book focuses not on the specifics of her... Read more

Gain remarkable insight about practicing therapy in a rural community!

In Diary of a Country Therapist, Dr. Marcia Hill chronicles more than a decade of her thoughts and feelings about practicing therapy in rural Vermont. The author reveals her empathy for her clients, her frustration in money matters, and her anger at the maltreatment of women. This book focuses not on the specifics of her clients' cases, but on the trials, successes, and fulfillment of working in this emotionally challenging profession.

“What a strange line of work this is, where the ability to feel is such a primary tool. Who would think that one's heart could be harnessed and used intentionally as a resource? It's such a paradox. My feeling response is what it is; it cannot be commanded or faked. Yet it is not a matter of giving in to emotion, but one of using feeling purposefully, like a scalpel. It's an experience of simultaneous yielding and restraint. The job of the professional empath is like that of an artist or poet: to take raw experience, direct emotional response, and somehow make it a vehicle for change and enlightenment.”

From liberating breakthroughs to personal anguish, Diary of a Country Therapist is witness to a decade of changes, both in Marcia Hill's practice and in her personal life. With the advent of managed health care, she struggles to give her clients the best care she can. She talks about many of the clients she met over the years—what therapies worked and which didn't, her discomfort when she interacted with her clients in and around her small country town, and the valuable lessons she learned about life from her sessions with them.

“If therapists are exposed to what is most tragic in life, we are also privy to what is most inspiring. We have the benefit of experiencing many lives. If my work has offered me the opportunity to learn wisdom and compassion, my wish is that through these essays I may pass some of that gift along to you.”

Diary of a Country Therapist is the honest scrutiny of a psychotherapist's life from her own heart and soul. While this text will be enlightening for mental health professionals of all kinds, its accessible, jargon-free style makes it an excellent selection for nonprofessionals who want insight into the mind of a practicing therapist. Read less

INTRODUCTION
But First, a Word from My Sponsors
Welcome
1989
Putting the Heart to Work
Let Me Go!
Professional Loneliness
The Gift of Transference
The Feminist Gets Nervous
Be Careful What You Ask For
Courage
Failure
Feeding the Soul
Coming Home
Christmas As a Defense Mechanism
1990
Faking It
The Witness Protection Program
Visibility
Weightlessness
Identity
Heal Thyself
Doing It for Free
Neighbors
Zen Landscape
What’s It Worth?
1991
Back to Kindergarten
The Bright Line
The Cost of Silence
Remembering What’s Sacred
Pain Makes the Best Therapist
Bending the Rules
The Politics of Therapy
Finally Getting the Drift
1992
Spiritual Winter
The Feminist Therapist Diagnoses Oppression
How Magic Works
A Surprise
Working When It Hurts
Ignorance
The Delicate Balance
Worth a Thousand Words
Getting Done
1993
A Known Evil
Paying the Price
One of the Perks
The Expensive Gift
Up from the Ashes
It’s for You
Pissed Off
Trusting the Experts
Living Outside the Lines
1994
Nowhere to Hide
A Slump
The Curative Powers of May
Hear What I Do, Not What I Say
The War Against Women
Soul-Searching
Emotional Whiplash
It Takes Guts
1996
Ripped Open
Managed Care Rears Its Ugly Head
Life’s Vicissitudes
For Love and Money
Breath
Transformation or Technician
It Takes All the Running You Can Do
And Now, a Word from Mother Nature
Turning Gold into Lead
The Therapist Finally Matures
A Punch in the Gut
Still Hurting
1997
Trying to Stay Sane
God Visits the Therapist
There but for the Grace of God
The Trauma Attack
Leaving Where the Edges Are
The Knowledge of Death
Heroes
Sucking the Soul out of Therapy
Ode to November
No Winners Here
1998
Panic
Keeping Perspective
Grounded
The Therapist Lets Go
Working While Drowning
Powerlessness and Joy
Grace
The Noose Tightens
The Terror Time
Darkness
Hedonism Cures Overresponsibility
Slipping the Bounds of Self
Becoming Visible
1999
The Truth About Sin
On the Way out the Door
Hard Work
What I’ve Learned
Invitation to Joy
Honor
Still Miles to Go Before We Sleep
The Truth About Relationships
The Lesson Repeated
Choice
Acceptance
Taking Stock
Authenticity
2000
Coming to Terms
The Existential Moment
Forgiveness
What to Do When You Don’t Like It
Midlife
Omnipotence
Searching for the Truth
The Other Path
CONCLUSION
Counting My Blessings

Author(s)

Biography

Marcia Hill

Diary of a Country Therapist

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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