“The Discriminating Therapist book is groundbreaking…this is treatment without interpretation…This book contains much information to quickly move the client forward to resolving his/her difficulties…It can change the way you work.”
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter
“The Discriminating Therapist is unique in that it guides you through a step-by-step process to discover what you, the clinician, actually need to do to achieve good results with each client. It provides both an overview to the process and then several specific examples of how to apply that process with a range of common issues. As I apply the principles described in this book, I increase my effectiveness as a therapist dramatically.
Shawn, Amazon Review
“Helping therapists quickly identify where important life decisions can go awry is enormously helpful and is already changing some of the ways I do therapy. It’s easy to read, incorporates a lot of useful current research, and gets my highest recommendation.”
A Grateful Reader, Amazon Review
“This important book by Michael Yapko, distinguished & wise clinical psychologist, illustrates in clear steps how helping professionals of all disciplines can improve clients skills in making choices and important decisions in their lives. This book will also appeal to anyone wanting to improve skills in making decisions that enhance their lives. I am grateful as well as delighted to have this book as a reference and resource for helping others … and myself … in understanding an effective process for making decisions.”
Linda Guhe, MSW, Amazon Review
“Yapko offers a perspective that highlights the efficacy of focusing client’s on how they make decisions rather than why they make the choices they make. Twelve key discriminations are also provided, along with a summary of primary issues and criteria to help clients become discriminating decision-makers and effective problem-solvers. I highly recommend this book and I thank Michael Yapko for his innovative work.”
Pamela Hollings, Amazon Review
“The refreshing directness, and insightful, thoughthfulness in this book, will aid any counsellor, psychologist and psychiatrist who is looking forward to breaking new ground with challenging people with emotional or psychological issues.”
Amazon customer, Amazon Review
“Fantastic! Well written, well organized, and a valuable addition to any therapist’s library. Its brilliant practical application on solid theoretical foundation make it an incredible resource!”
Jody Thomas, Amazon Review
“I enjoy the author’s writing style, taking complex concepts and breaking them down, and demonstrating to the reader these concepts can be understood, learned, and implemented into their lives.”
Tomas Bahama, Amazon Review
Below is a portion of the review in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis Volume 60, 2017 Issue 2. The full review is only available through the Journal
“…Michael Yapko has again written an original and ground-breaking book for clinicians. His insightful thinking and voice come across on every page. Indeed, a lifetime of Dr. Yapko’s clinical acumen and experience is reflected within its concise, well-organized 160 pages…
Consistent with his prior publications and teaching, Dr. Yapko blends positive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology and cognitive psychotherapy…to teach practical skill sets to clinicians from a variety of theoretical backgrounds. These skills include increased awareness of the implications of cognitive style on therapist and client decision making. Indeed, a primary aim of this book is for therapists to better recognize when drawing out the differences between one or more choices or assertions will further the effectiveness of the therapy…
The Discriminating Therapist has three parts. Part one establishes and defines several discrimination strategies as the basic framework for strategic psychotherapy, which is his primary approach… Part two focuses on “experiential deficits” and the well-directed “how” question… In part three, Dr. Yapko elaborates on “Twelve Key Discriminations,” each with its own chapter, all using a similar, manageable format… Like all of Dr. Yapko’s publications, the discussions around each essential discrimination question are sophisticated and thought-provoking… Although Dr. Yapko writes and teaches extensively on hypnosis, this work is aimed at a wider clinical audience. It synthesizes his expertise in his other areas of interest, including depression and strategic psychotherapy. Hypnosis is mentioned just once in passing, in a clinical example. Nonetheless, students of Dr. Yapko, myself included, are fully aware that the most effective hypnosis sessions interweave many of the themes highlighted in The Discriminating Therapist. Thus, I end with the observation that reading this book will benefit you as a clinician whether you choose to address how a client makes decisions within the therapeutic session directly or as part of your use of hypnosis. Dr. Yapko’s latest book, with a compass motif on the cover, points the way for each of us and is truly a therapist’s therapy book.”
Dr. Evelyn A. Segal, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
Dr. Segal is Clinical Director of Family Medicine Behavioral Health and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Il.