Creativity in Psychotherapy (PDF)

Examine the dynamic role of creativity in therapy!

Creativity in Psychotherapy: Reaching New Heights with Individuals, Couples, and Families examines the nature, role, and importance of creative thinking in counseling and therapy. Authors David K. Carson and Kent W. Becker combine extensive backgrounds in marriage and family therapy and counseling to give you a unique resource that fills a crucial gap in the therapy literature. The book explores various aspects of creative thinking, personal characteristics of highly creative therapists, creative techniques and interventions, barriers to creative work, and creativity development. Not designed as a “cookbook” for conducting therapy, Creativity in Psychotherapy features practical techniques and interventions for conducting therapy with children, adults, couples, and families.

Creativity in Psychotherapy: Reaching New Heights with Individuals, Couples, and Families is a much-needed response to the need for a pragmatic approach that makes sense, using methods, techniques, and applications based in respected, established theoretical principles and empirical research. The book establishes a mind-set the therapist can use to work with clients in discovering creative solutions, instead of viewing creative interventions as a grab bag of techniques. Creativity in Psychotherapy includes:

• a look at the various dimensions of creativity in counseling and psychotherapy
• an overview of the relationship between creativity and healthy functioning
• an examination of the connection between creativity and dysfunction
• a review of the role of creativity in supervision
• a survey of 142 therapists in the United States on the use of creativity in their practices
• in-depth discussions, practical examples, and illustrations
• “Creative Incubation” and “Break Out of The Box” exercises in each chapter!

Creativity in Psychotherapy: Reaching New Heights with Individuals, Couples, and Families is well-suited for use as a primary or supplemental textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in marriage and family therapy, psychotherapy, and counseling, and can easily be adapted for use in social work, counselor education, and clinical psychology courses. The book is an essential read for practicing psychotherapists, family therapists, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other human service professionals.