Book Review: The Mummy at the Dining Room Table

Book Review: The Mummy at the Dining Room Table: Eminent Therapists Reveal Their Most Unusual Cases

I am a sucker for case studies - real stories of people and their issues in therapy. My love for these stories is mixture of two factors, one is noble and the other not so much. First of all case studies are helpful for counsellors as they give them ideas, illustrate therapeutic techniques, encourage creativity, and give hope to those helpers who are wishing to improve their service to those with problems in living. The second factor? Well, you know that feeling you get when you pass an accident on the side of the road - you feel like you should look away but you can't help yourself? Um, that's it. It's just very, very intriguing to hear about the kind of things that happen in the privacy of a therapist's office.

The Mummy At The Dining Room Table is not just a collection of case stories of good therapy - it is a collection of stories from undisputed masters of psychology - stories that stood out to them. Stories that taught them, stories that haunt them, stories that will chill your blood, make you laugh out loud, or bring a tear to your eye. Three favorite master therapists of mine share including William Glasser, Albert Ellis, and Carl Whitaker. If you are a therapist (or someone interested in counselling) you will not be bored. The insights and reflections are both highly entertaining and deeply thought provoking. Warning: Some of these stories are quite graphic and not for the faint of heart (or stomach). If it was a movie I'd rate it an "R." As a book though I give it 4.2 ninja stars out of 5.