Psychoanalytic Case Formulation

I think the most important use of this book and the others that Nancy Mcwilliams has written is the access they provide into the literature. The books she recommends and references (I've collected a few) are important for an understanding of modern psychoanalysis and (I think) human psychology. I would thoroughly recommend all of Nancy Mcwilliams' introductory text books on psychoanalytic psychotherapy for this reason. Also, Nancy Mcwilliams brings a postmodernist understanding (which seems ironically modern to me) to the study of psychoanalysis. I wouldn't know how to approach a complex tradition like psychoanalysis without such an approach. The personality theories handed down to us by previous generations frequently don't seem to fit together logically -- but they do seem to make sense phenomenologically -- they apply differently to differnt kinds of people. Psychoanaylsis is an important tradition and Nancy Mcwilliams demonstrates this in all of her books.

Tonight as we handed in our "take home final exams" for a Psychoanalytic Theory and Therapy class we all agreed that this book (a required text) was a good read. The author shared her experiences as a therapist in such a practical way, and gave us a taste of how to approach psychotherapy from a psychoanalytic perspective. Due to limited time this semester, I skimmed through a couple of the chapters (don't tell the prof)and actually look forward, during Christmas break, to more carefully reading each chapter.

Few books on *psychoanalytic* therapy offer such an excellent combination of theory and *application*. Want to know what to do in therapy once you recognize your patient's defenses, patterns, level of self-esteem, issues with affect, etc? Get this book. You do not know basic psychoanalytic tenets? The theory is there as well.Some people think this book is only for beginners. I disagree. It seems simple because McWilliams is a gifted writer and teacher, and has a knack to explain the most difficult concepts with everyday language that a 6 year old would understand. If you want an easy read with a lot of substance, read McWilliams. If you want a painful read with little substance, read Lacan (haha.) I am a beginner therapist, and this book has helped me immensely. The professor that recommended it has been practising for 35 years and *still* finds it useful. (Note: he is a renowned clinician and scholar... not just anybody)Every sentence counts. There is no superfluous material here. You get your every penny's worth of information. The book is also a page-turner--since when is a textbook supposed to be this enjoyable??? And McWilliams, who is obviously comfortable in her own skin, does not show the dogmatism that is typical in other writers. She is open to admit the usefulness of other approaches to therapy, and this very openness makes this text a useful resource for anyone interested in psychotherapy, even if they are coming from a different approach (cognitive behavioral, humanistic...).

Nancy Mc Williams is imminently readable. She has the gift of de-mystifying difficult concepts; or, put another way, she does not apparently have ego-needs that compel her to make the concepts of psychotherapy, or the field itself, obtuse. She also has quite an ability to cut-to-the-chase. Consider, for example, her description of "insight": "Part of the emphasis on understanding is that the two of them [patient and therapist] need something to talk about while the nonspecific relational factors are doing their quiet healing." Her personality shows through in her writing, so you will learn at two levels -- what she is telling you explicity,which is invaluable, and what she is telling you implicitly -- what it is about her that makes her so effective -- and believe me, you would want her to be your therapist, supervisor, whatever. As an aside, she seems to have a particular interest in, and gift for working with, addicts and sociopaths. Read the book, make charts, keep it at hand. It's a good read.

While I agree with another reviewer that "The book could be much more valuable ... had there been a greater focus on relating findings more clearly and thoroughly to the actual work of therapy," it wouldn't then be about "case formulation," would it? There is more wisdom in this book that in any other five books on psychology I've read recently, and I read a lot. It's full of seemingly obvious insights I've never heard anyone say before. Simplicity and clarity are misleadingly difficult to pull off and are the sign of someone with real understanding. You may not be able to have Nancy McWilliams supervise your work but you can buy this book. She's not infallible; I don't agree with everything she says, but I also don't think you can go wrong by spending a few evenings with her.