Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes
THE FEAR OF FEELING REAL
By Richard A. Chefetz, M.D.
This book is Rich’s effort to show people what the psychodynamic treatment of the dissociative disorders is really like. Using highly detailed case vignettes as well as extensive case discussions that sometimes span several chapters and include verbatim dialogue, the minds of both patient and clinician becomes visible as the difficult work of treating trauma and dissociation is spelled out. Problems like repetition of self-destructive behavior, sexual addiction, negative therapeutic reaction, enactment, and more are addressed in detail. If you’ve ever wondered about what happens in treatment, and why, (and how to repair difficult situations with clients) this book will be helpful to you. Additionally, the book updates readers on the neurobiology and psychodynamic theory that underlie dissociative processes. It is suitable for both beginning and experienced clinicians, as well as the intelligent layperson, The Fear of Feeling Real makes these treatments come alive.
People in the U.S. can pre-order the book online at a 20% discount, but outside North America that following code may not work:
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Intensive-Psychotherapy-for-Persistent-Dissociative-Processes/
should be used, and at checkout, next to the space where credit card info is to be entered, there is the promotional code to be entered: FEELREAL and that does the trick.
Here is what some of our esteemed colleagues have to say about,
Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes
THE FEAR OF FEELING REAL
Nancy McWilliams, Ph.D.: It is hard to endorse this book without gushing. Richard Chefetz, a master teacher on dissociative phenomena, integrates scientific sophistication with in-the-trenches clinical mastery. His eloquent writing – synthesizing theory and practice, mind and body, left-and right-brain processes, research and application, science and art exemplifies the healing integration sought by every therapist familiar with dissociative disorders. Verbatim case material illuminates clinically familiar but devastating topics. I recommend it to anyone seriously interested in the treatment of fractured minds and defeated hearts, including researchers, therapists, students, and patients dealing with the agonies of traumatized lives.
Philip Bromberg, Ph.D.: Richard Chefetz, arguably the most astute and sophisticated mind in the field of trauma and dissociation, has written his promised book, and it is a “must-read” beyond the usual meaning of the term found on a back cover. Feeling Real: Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes is a journey into the mind and consulting room of a master clinician, scientist, and educator in which he accompanies you personally. A reader surfaces from this experience, knowing first hand why “working” with dissociative processes as part of a personal relationship is the most robust and far-reaching context for healing and growth. Chefetz writes: “Dissociation is mostly not about dissociative disorders. It is about how a mind struggles to cope with the intolerable and unbearable.” As both a traumatologist and a psychodynamic clinician, Chefetz has built a bridge that links the two through exploring the joint dissociative processes that take place as part of the patient/therapist relationship. Discussing what he calls “the politics of emotion” between himself and his patient “Alice,” he comments, “No particular theoretical understanding or technique is a substitute for the power of our relationship to provide a safe space in which Alice, and I, learn and grow. Go ask Alice.” In Chefetz’s words, “attention to moment-to-moment process . . . pays much larger long term dividends than anything else. In talking about dissociative process, abstract concepts have their place. That place is not the consulting room.”
Bethany Brand, Ph.D.: With a wonderfully engaging style, Richard Chefetz instructs readers in the art of blending psychodynamic and affect theory with attachment, neurobiological, and trauma related research in the treatment of severely dissociative patients. He shares illuminating therapy transcripts to illustrate the careful management of clinical dilemmas such as entrenched self-destructiveness and trauma-based enactments. Dr. Chefetz and his patients courageously share their moment by moment exchanges that heal childhood trauma. Clinicians will better understand their complex trauma patients and their own reactions to working with them. Dr. Chefetz masterfully teaches us all how to engage in relationally focused treatment with patients who are both terrified of feeling real, and yet are desperate to do so. Clinicians, get ready to be inspired by the warmth, attunement, and clinical skill demonstrated in this book!
Richard Kluft, M.D., Ph.D.: Dr. Chefetz has written an engaging, reader-friendly, easily-grasped introduction to the relational understanding and treatment of dissociative processes. More impressively still, he often accomplishes these objectives with the flair of a master storyteller. Reading Intensive Psychotherapy …. is painless, even enjoyable. Chefetz’ ability to make complex processes and their dynamics in the clinical encounter accessible is unprecedented. His efforts to translate complex neuropsychophysiolgical information into plain English are nearly as successful. Chefetz restricts his focus to certain selected aspects of the dissociative disorders field. Although this text is not a comprehensive study of the treatment of the dissociative disorders, Intensive Psychotherapy….. does so much so well that it will be an incredibly useful book for any mental health professional beginning to make his or her way into the often complex, overwhelming and often disconcerting study of dissociative processes. I recommend it highly.
Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D.: “Richard Chefetz’s masterfully written Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes is an indispensable text for the clinician who works with trauma and dissociative disorders. Although state of the art now, it will be a classic and widely read for many years to come. This book describes dissociative processes from A to Z in coherent detail, covering just about everything that is important to know about dissociative processes and the treatment of dissociative problems. Dr. Chefetz’s clinical vignettes provide the reader with an understanding that is ‘from the inside out’ of the patient’s experience and of the interactions of the clinical dyad. While the experienced dissociative disorders clinician will be significantly enriched by reading Dr. Chefetz’s finely nuanced vision, this book is also a must-read for anyone who feels that they haven’t ‘gotten’ dissociative phenomena. After reading this book, they will!”
Sincerely,
Shelly
Sheldon Itzkowitz, Ph.D. ABPP
Psychologist Psychoanalyst
295 Central Park West
New York, N.Y. 10024
(212) 769-2365
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology
NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
Former President, Division of Psychoanalysis
New York State Psychological Association