Synopsis "Opening a Closed Door: A Psychotherapist Remembers His Patients"
What is psychotherapy and what happens in a therapy session? Books, movies, and television often provide a biased or romantic view. Not here. OPENING A CLOSED DOOR: A PSYCHOTHERAPIST REMEMBERS HIS PATIENTS consists of sixty-eight vignettes drawn from the author's true-life experiences as a clinical psychologist. He has worked at VA hospitals and outpatient clinics, as faculty at a medical school, and in private practice. In all these venues, he cared about his patients, and remembers and honors them to this day. Some stories may have you laughing and others might bring tears to your eyes but you will remember each of the people you meet in these pages. The short case histories are grouped in several classifications, such as "The Young," "Fun," "Scary," and "Sexy." The author even shares some of his own therapy experience. Dr. Boeringa, like his patients, will become a real person to you. An appendix contains his thoughts about therapy in general. The book may bring to mind the stories written by Oliver Sacks yet it is unique in that it narrates psychological cases. Fascinating to a wide variety of curious readers, it can also be an engaging mystery, and provides both a good read and interesting information. Here is what really happens behind the scenes in therapy. This book will acquaint you with people who have faced universal human issues. Perhaps some of the problems presented are similar to those you or someone you know has encountered. With sensitivity and caring on the part of both patient and doctor, many of these problems are resolved, but not all. This is a book to re-read, give, share and discuss. It offers thought-provoking material for any book club. After reading the book, the reader's one remaining question might be: "When does the next book come out?"
