Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Man's Search for Meaning By Viktor Frankl 1946/2006 The book is divided into two parts. The first part chronicles Viktor Frankl’s personal experiences in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, during World War II. He describes the daily struggles and atrocities that he and other prisoners endured, such as starvation, forced labour, and constant threat of death. Despite the horrific conditions, Frankl observed that some individuals managed to find a sense of meaning and purpose, which helped them survive. He notes that those who had something to live for, whether it was a loved one or a future goal, were more resilient and more likely to endure the suffering. In the second part of the book, Frankl introduces his psychotherapeutic method called logotherapy, which focuses on the pursuit of meaning as the central human motivational force. According to Frankl, life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones. He argues that people can discover meaning throu...

  Mastering Your Mind: A Guide to Rational Living By : Albert Ellis and Robert Harper Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD I was introduced to Albert Ellis’ theory of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy as a graduate student in 1974 by Professor Robert Dolliver III (1934 - 2021) at the University of Missouri. I had accumulated a number of courses in philosophy along with my focus on psychology thus, Ellis’ approach made a lot of sense to me. In my clinical practice, I found that many of my highly educated patients found the New Guide to Rational Living helpful. Following is a summary of the book. A New Guide to Rational Living by Albert Ellis and Robert Harper introduces the concepts of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) to the general public. In this self-help manual, Ellis provides strategies for thought balancing, also known as cognitive reframing. The book aims to help individuals overcome negative thoughts and emotions that hold them back in life. Here are the key conce...

  Gender Identity & Faith Clinical Postures, Tools, and Case Studies For Client-Centered Care   By   Mark A. Yarhouse &   Julia A.   Sadusky Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Gender Identity & Faith   is not for everyone. Yarhouse and Sadusky have written a guidebook for mental health professionals who need a resource to help patients and their families who are seeking assistance with two identity issues—gender identity and religious identity. The authors are not focused on changing gender identity. Instead, they provide readers with specific ideas to help their patients explore their perceived conflicts between gender and religious identity. Although the authors use the words religious and conventionally religious , the book is focused on Christian patients who perceive a conflict between two salient components of their self-identity. Most Americans are religious and most Americans identify as Christian. It is general...

  Quiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking   By   Susan Cain Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton As the subtitle explains, Quiet is about introverts in an extroverted culture. As a psychologist, I appreciate Cain’s exploration of personality psychology, which included interviews with experts and an awareness of the differences between her broader view of introversion and extroversion compared to the less encompassing features that comprise the personality construct in psychology. As a person favoring many features linked to introversion, I can identify with her stories and affirm the effort required to adapt to the demands of an extrovert-driven culture. In fact, American culture was a bit of a shock to us when we first came to the United States from England where the norm seems to be a polite reserve punctuated with copious amounts of saying “sorry” when we perceive we may have offended someone. What I did not realize as a chi...

The Myth of Repressed Memory    False memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse By   Elizabeth Loftus &   Katherine Ketcham Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton The Myth of Repressed Memory is a classic worth reading. Those of us who are psychotherapists along with colleagues in healthcare, spiritual care, and the justice system are well aware that so many people have been abused sexually and otherwise as children and adults. We hear their stories and sense their anguish. Those of us who have studied memory, cognition, and neuropsychology as a part of our preparation for clinical work also know about the fallibility of memory and the work of Elizabeth Loftus. Those of us who were working when Loftus’ memory research trickled across America became acutely aware of the impact of her studies on prosecuting attorneys and their referrals for assessment. Although the book is old in the sense that many are well aware of the malleability of human m...

  Discipline with Respect in Caring Relationships By     Geoffrey W. Sutton Reviewed by    Various Discipline with Respect in Caring Relationships is an evidence-based approach to helping parents help children develop self-discipline. The program and the book has been well-received in public and private schools, churches, foster parent meetings, and other venues. ********** “With so many barriers to respectful communication, now more than ever parents need practical strategies to help their children develop into respectful adults. Dr. Sutton’s work connects timeless principles to modern wisdom in a way that challenges family habits and encourages relationship-grounded discipline.” —Jennifer Poindexter, M.S., LPC - South Carolina   “ Discipline with Respect meets many of today’s child-rearing needs. In it, Dr. Sutton conveys for parents and for other concerned adults his tested, effective methods for helping children to develop a sense of personal respon...

THERAPY AFTER TERROR:      9/11, PSYCHOTHERAPISTS,    AND MENTAL HEALTH    By     Karen M. Seeley  (2008) Reviewed by   September K. Trent       and   Geoffrey W. Sutton “Everybody’s trauma was so raw. It didn’t matter who you were talking to —relief worker, direct victim, other therapists —you were all the same body in some ways”  (p. 152).  Seeley peppers her analysis of the effects of 9/11 on psychotherapists and the field of mental health with excerpts from pungent and thoughtful interviews. We glimpse the chaos through the eyes of psychotherapists who lived the trauma in their personal and professional lives. On the morning of September 11, 2001, New York therapists are running to the Red Cross shelters to donate their time, psychologists are treating patients who are eyewitnesses to the worst enemy attack on the Americ...