My Book About How To Use Psychotherapy

If you’d like to understand what you need to do to make psychotherapy work for you, you may find my book I’m Working On It In Therapy: How To Get The Most Out Of Psychotherapy, helpful.  Available in paper, e-reader and audio formats, it outlines ten tools that you can use to engage in effective  psychotherapy to make the changes you seek. While as therapists we try to explain the process, what is obvious to us is often not clear to our clients. Being aware of these key tools can help you to get the most out of your time in session, perhaps more than you imagined was possible. With research, stories, examples and humor I illustrate how  you can use therapy to not only remove symptoms, but also move toward a more fulfilling life.

PsychCentral had this to say about it: The book is a fascinating look at self-growth, and one that’s useful whether or not you go to therapy. Trosclair elegantly transforms complex psychological concepts into powerful, understandable tools.

Writing in the journal Quadrant, Jungian Analyst Deborah Reider Bazes said: One of the great strengths of this book is its accessibility.  The ability to bridge the distance between complex psychological concepts and the common-sense understanding of “ordinary people” is no small accomplishment. But this is what Trosclair succeeds at over and over again in the course of this book. Through the use of humor, cartoons and homely metaphors, he may charm even his most skeptical readers. To read more excerpts, click here. 

I’m Working On It In Therapy is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iBooks, and IndieBound.

To read the Preface and Introduction, click here.

Here is an outline of the chapters:

  • Chapter One: Get Real: Take Off the Mask and Show Your Many Faces
  • Chapter Two: Channel the Flow of Emotion: Have Your Feelings without Your Feelings Having You
  • Chapter Three: Enough about Them: Look Deeply Within for the Sources of Change
  • Chapter Four: Don’t Hold Back: Forge an Authentic Connection with Your Therapist
  • Chapter Five: Be Curious, Not Judgmental: Observe Yourself Honestly without Attacking Yourself
  • Chapter Six: Carry Your Fair Share, and Only Your Fair Share: Differentiate When to Take Responsibility and When Not To
  • Chapter Seven: What’s Your Story? Identify the Recurring Themes and Fundamental Beliefs That Guide You
  • Chapter Eight: It Ain’t Necessarily So: Build a Better Narrative and Choose Your Beliefs Consciously
  • Chapter Nine: Do Something! Continue Your Psychological Work outside of Sessions
  • Chapter Ten: Into the Fire: Use Challenges as Opportunities for Growth
  • Appendix A: In the Beginning: Starting Therapy
  • Appendix B: Are We There Yet? Stopping Therapy
  • Appendix C: Does This Thing Work? Research Evidence Supporting the Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Here’s what other readers have said about the book:

Everyone in therapy or contemplating therapy should read this book.  And even if you’re not in or headed for therapy, you will learn something of value about why you behave the way you do and how you might feel better and live a happier life.  Dr. Trosclair’s writing is compelling and engaging, and his perspective grounded in care for his patients, his reading of popular culture, and his warm and affecting sense of humor.  This is a book whose time has come. Journalist  Angela Bonavoglia, MSW, author of Good Catholic Girls, and The Choices We Made.

Gary Trosclair has written a book that will answer many questions for people in therapy or considering therapy.  In clear, measured, and compassionate language, he is both descriptive and prescriptive.  That is, he describes the experiences of therapy in broad enough terms to be recognizable to most of us who have been there, and he offers non-judgemental advice of how to gain the most benefit from therapy.  For anyone looking to therapy to help them through emotional turmoil, Dr Trosclair’s book will be an excellent, clarifying, and calming guide. Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer, New York Hall of Science

In describing the psychological issues that many of us are struggling with, therapists tend to write for other therapists; the general public is more often than not left out of the picture. Gary Trosclair has the unique ability to translate complex psychological concepts into language that the layperson can easily grasp and understand. His ability to make psychological material come alive and be relevant is a gift not often found in our field. Aryeh Maidenbaum, Ph.D., Director, New York Center for Jungian Studies

This is a compelling introduction to the opportunities and responsibilities of psychotherapy for those considering the process. Full of illustrative imaginal material and illuminating views of the work, it opens the way and helps guide the seeker to consider many of the foundational issues that arise. Sylvia Pererra, author Dreams, A Portal to the Source