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The Mind in Therapy

Cognitive Science for Practice

• By Katherine D. Arbuthnott, Dennis W. Arbuthnott, Valerie A. Thompson

• Price: $52.50
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Pages: 440
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 11th October 2005
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-5675-0

About the Book

Human mental capacities and processes are the raw materials with which psychotherapists work. Thus what cognitive scientists have discovered in recent decades is potentially tremendous value for psychotherapeutic practice. But the new knowledge is not readily accessible to therapists, who find both language and methodology off-putting.

The Mind in Therapy bridges the gap. It offers a comprehensive overview of the relevant range of cognitive activities, ranging from complex mental operations such as problem solving, decision making, reasoning, and metacognition to basic functions such as attention, memory, and emotion. The authors integrate key new findings about the interaction between cognition and emotion, inhibition, and counterfactual thinking--processes that loom large in practice. Each chapter reviews an area of cognitive research, clearly explains the findings, and highlights their implications and applications in diverse models of therapy--cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and family. Each includes case vignettes that illustrate the ways in which the concepts are important and useful in practice.

All therapists rely on the human mind to effect the change they seek. The clearer understanding of human cognitive capacities, idiosyncrasies, and limitations--their own as well as clients'--that they will gain from this book will enhance the effectiveness of both beginning and experienced practitioners, whatever their orientation.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction. Problem Solving: The Structure of Psychotherapy. Memory Retrieval Cues and Priming. Autobiographical Memory: The Stories and Scenes of Our Lives. Autobiographical Memory Errors. Prospective Memory and Psychotherapeutic Homework. Attention: The Eye of the Mental Hurricane. Category Judgment. Decision Making: Gathering and Evaluating Evidence. Reasoning: Evaluating Conclusions and Determining Cause. Counterfactual Thinking: If Only and What If. Metacognition: What You Know About How You Think. Emotion and Cognition: Mutual Influences. Catharsis or Containment: Inhibition and Health. Psychodynamic Principles as Cognitive Mechanisms. Prospect and Review: Cognition Throughout the Process of Therapy.