I enjoyed reading this book, learned from it, and would recommend it to anyone вЂ“ practitioner or help-seeker вЂ“ who is interested in understanding how therapy can make a difference. EltonвЂ™s approach is highly collaborative. HeвЂ™s been on the show numerous times but, if you donвЂ™t know. We also muse about the bittersweet potency of new beginnings in general. This includes practices that dial down anxiety and orient us toward inspiration, creativity, and exploration. Matthew Elton invites other practitioners to look over his shoulder to find out how another colleague works. In this mind meld, Colin and I riff on ways, both anecdotal and scientifically backed, to do it. 'This is a beautifully written, accessible and inspiring book, that has a lot to offer to both novice and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists, and also to clients. These, and the many other characters in this book, were profoundly stuck until, through talking it better, each found a unique path taking them closer to the self they would prefer to be. Ensured patient care and experience was welcoming, positive, and caring from the start of a visit to finish. Isobel wants to stop rushing to help people and then resenting them because they take her for granted. Actions speak, feelings in themselves donвЂ™t. Emotions are recognized by what a person does emotionally, not by how their body feels. Calum wants to learn to hear what his partner is really saying, rather than what he fears she is. Ossorio used the concept of Intentional Action and the Relationship Formula to explicate emotion. Marie-Anne wants to manage the sergeant major in her head who keeps telling her what to do. And he shows us that, when it comes to developing our mind skills, practice is often far more important than insight or theory. He explains how counsellors and therapists can borrow valuable ideas from the teachers of skills such as swimming, reading music or learning to drive.

At the heart of therapeutic work, he argues, is the development of effective mind skills.

Using case studies based on his own clients, Elton carefully examines what helps and what hinders the process of change in the therapy room.

Talking it Better is a practical book about the everyday practice of counselling and psychotherapy, written by a practitioner for fellow practitioners.

Mind meld psychotherapy