What to do when your therapist isn’t there

OVERALL RATING Good

STRENGTHS Well written for a lay audience; helps readers gain insight into personal issues of a psychological nature

WEAKNESSES Oversimplification of Freudian concepts; overemphasis on early development phenomenon to explain psychological issues in later life

AUDIENCE General public, family and general practitioners, health care workers involved in psychotherapy

What To Do When Your Therapist Isn’t There is written by an experienced therapist who has been counseling patients for more than 40 years. Danielson relates her tremendous inventory of insights into human psychology and the self in a very clear and readable manner, although sometimes with crass language.

The first chapters provide a very simplified description of basic Freudian concepts. For example, the id, ego, and superego are like a peanut butter sandwich, in which the peanut butter is the ego holding the id and superego bread slices together. Even for an amateur, this might be difficult to swallow! Nevertheless, Danielson’s writing is effective and will be helpful for someone trying to gain a better understanding of psychological troubles.

Chapters are well organized and cover many common psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, grief, posttraumatic stress disorder, and certain personality traits. Each chapter provides a concise summary, important warning signs, and coping strategies.

Although this book will help readers understand psychiatric disorders, it does not come close to replacing interaction with a therapist. However, some of the coping strategies might help the overall healing process. It is important to note Danielson’s reliance on childhood experiences to explain personal psychological issues later in life. The abundance of work in the field of psychology since Freud’s concepts were developed suggest that there are perhaps other psychoanalytical models that could be more applicable. Nonetheless, Danielson’s book is a good refresher for family and general practitioners, and lay persons with an interest in human psychology.

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