Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

By Lori Gottlieb

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a nonfiction work authored by Lori Gottlieb, a practicing therapist in Los Angeles, California. In this insightful examination of the therapeutic process, Gottlieb chronicles the cases of four patients: John, Julie, Charlotte, and Rita. But these cases are set against the backdrop of a more significant therapeutic endeavor, her own. After a personal crisis, Gottlieb seeks therapy for herself and finds she is facing the challenges and stimulation of establishing rapport with her new therapist, Wendall. It is from this case that the book develops into a heartrending and edifying analysis of the elements of humanity and the positive growth that can emerge from seeking the answers within ourselves.

After decades of teaching graduate students the foundational elements of what it means to be a counselor, this book captured so many of the lessons and knowledge that establishes this solid floor. While reading Gottlieb’s account, I found myself nodding frequently and being somewhat in awe of the broad array of theory and technique she skillfully wove together through this narrative. She interlaces the theories of Irving Yalom’s existential therapy, James Prochaska’s transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM), cognitive therapy, and others. In addition, she shares nuggets of wisdom on both the therapeutic process and human behavior that she’s acquired throughout her education, training, and both personal and professional experience.

When a therapist finds that the therapeutic approach being used is not effective:

“when something isn’t working, do something different”

A lesson learned during her internship:

“avoidance is a simple way of coping by not having to cope”

She quotes her college dean:

“Being a therapist is going to require a blend of the cognitive and the creative . . . There’s an artistry in combining the two.”

This last quote is something I have shared with my own students many times over the years. Therapy is a beautiful combination of art and science. It is most successful only when these two are turning together in synchrony. When this harmony is present, it is remarkable what can be accomplished.

—N. Jung