John Rowan – författare

This book deals with what is perhaps the central question in therapy - who is the therapist? And how does that actually come across and manifest itself in the therapeutic relationship? A good deal of the thinking about this in psychoanalysis has come under the heading of countertransference. Much of the thinking in the humanistic approaches has come under such headings as empathy, genuineness, nonpossessive warmth, presence, personhood. These two streams of thinking about the therapist's own self provide much material for the bulk of the book - but other aspects of the therapist also enter the picture, including the way a therapist is trained, and uses supervision, in order to make fuller use of her or his own reactions, responses and experience in working with any one client.The book is aimed primarily at counsellors and psychotherapists, or trainees in these disciplines. It has been written in a way that is accessible to students at all levels, but it is also of particular value to existing practitioners with an interest in the problems of integration.

"Most therapists, regardless of theoretical approach, intuitively recognize that their sense of self intimately influences their work. Using this elemental truth as a launching pad, Rowan and Jacobs articulate the different avenues through which the self informs therapy, and how each can be used to improve therapeutic effectiveness. Along the way the authors provide a masterful exposition of transference, countertransference, and projective identification, throwing much needed light on topics that have long been mired in controversy and confusion.The book is a priceless resource for experienced therapists and those just beginning the journey."- Professor Sheldon Cashadan, author of Object Relations Therapy and The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales

"Outstandingly in the current literature, this book meets the conditions for integrative psychotherapy to fulfil its undoubted potential as the therapy pathway of the future. Much has to change in our field. First, people have to become better informed and more respectful of other traditions than their own, engaging with all kinds of taboo topics. Next, vigorous but contained dispute has to take place without having a bland synthesis as its goal. Finally, the current situation in which 'integration' runs in one direction only - humanistic and transpersonal therapists learning from psychoanalysis - has to be altered. Rowan and Jacobs, each a master in his own field, have done a wonderful collaborative job. The book's focus on what different ways of being a therapist really mean in practice guarantees its relevance for therapists of all schools (or none) and at every level."- Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology, University of Essex and Visiting Professor of Psychoanalytic Studies, Goldsmith's College, University of London "There is no question in psychotherapy more important than the degree to which the practitioner should be natural and spontaneous. Would it be sensible to leave one's ordinary, everyday personality behind when entering the consulting room and adopt a stance based on learned techniques? This is the question addressed by Rowan & Jacobs in The Therapist's Use of Self, approaching it from various angles and discussing the relevant ideas of different schools of thought. The authors are very well-infomred and write with admirable clarity, directness and wisdom and have made an impressive contribution to a problem to which there is no easy solution".- Dr. Peter Lomas, author of Doing Good? Psychotherapy Out of Its Depth.

"Outstandingly in the current literature, this book meets the conditions for integrative psychotherapy to fulfil its undoubted potential as the therapy pathway of the future. Much has to change in our field. First, people have to become better informed and more respectful of other traditions than their own, engaging with all kinds of taboo topics. Next, vigorous but contained dispute has to take place without having a bland synthesis as its goal. Finally, the current situation in which ''integration'' runs in one direction only - humanistic and transpersonal therapists learning from psychoanalysis - has to be altered. Rowan and Jacobs, each a master in his own field, have done a wonderful collaborative job. The book''s focus on what different ways of being a therapist really mean in practice guarantees its relevance for therapists of all schools (or none) and at every level." - Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology, University of Essex and Visiting Professor of Psychoanalytic Studies, Goldsmith''s College, University of London

"There is no question in psychotherapy more important than the degree to which the practitioner should be natural and spontaneous. Would it be sensible to leave one''s ordinary, everyday personality behind when entering the consulting room and adopt a stance based on learned techniques? This is the question addressed by Rowan & Jacobs in The Therapist''s Use of Self, approaching it from various angles and discussing the relevant ideas of different schools of thought. The authors are very well-infomred and write with admirable clarity, directness and wisdom and have made an impressive contribution to a problem to which there is no easy solution". - Dr. Peter Lomas, author of Doing Good? Psychotherapy Out of Its Depth.

This book deals with what is perhaps the central question in therapy - who is the therapist? And how does that actually come across and manifest itself in the therapeutic relationship? A good deal of the thinking about this in psychoanalysis has come under the heading of countertransference. Much of the thinking in the humanistic approaches has come under such headings as empathy, genuineness, nonpossessive warmth, presence, personhood. These two streams of thinking about the therapist''s own self provide much material for the bulk of the book - but other aspects of the therapist also enter the picture, including the way a therapist is trained, and uses supervision, in order to make fuller use of her or his own reactions, responses and experience in working with any one client.

The book is aimed primarily at counsellors and psychotherapists, or trainees in these disciplines. It has been written in a way that is accessible to students at all levels, but it is also of particular value to existing practitioners with an interest in the problems of integration.

`I thoroughly recommend this book. I found it challenging, provocative, exciting and full of delights. (It makes such a change to be told that ideal personality characteristics would include a Monty Pythonesque sense of humour and a tolerance of mind-altering drugs!) While reading it I often felt nourished and refreshed' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy

With the emergence of postmodern thinking, the notion of a unified, singular `self' appears increasingly problematic. Yet for many, postmodernism's proclamation of `the death of the subject' is equally problematic. As a response to this dilemma, there has been a rise of interest in pluralistic models of the `self' in which the person is conceptualized as a multiplicity of subpersonalities, as a plurality of existential possibilities or as a `being' which is inextricably in-dialogue-with-others.

Bringing together many disciplines, and with contributions from foremost writers on self-pluralism, The Plural Self overviews and critiques this emerging field. Drawing together theory, research and practice, the book expands on both the psychological and philosophical theories underlying and associated with self-pluralism, and presents empirical evidence in support of the self-pluralistic perspective, exploring its application within a clinical and therapeutic setting.

We all have had the experience of being divided, of being in two minds'' about something - one part of us wants to do this, another wants to do that. Subpersonalities is the first book to do justice to the phenomenon as a normal feature of our psychological life. John Rowan argues that we all have a number of personalities that express themselves in different situations and that by recognising them we can come to understand ourselves better and improve our relationships with others. Anyone reading this book will run the risk of making quite new discoveries about themselves. In looking at where subpersonalities come from, John Rowan explores the work of psychologists and psychotherapists, from Jung and Freud onwards, and adds insights gained from his own work as a therapist and counsellor. He relates the journey of discovery that he himself undertook in search of his own subpersonalities. The result is a fascinating book that challenges our accepted view of ourselves and provides an intriguing picture of how human beings work and why communication between them so often goes wrong. Subpersonalties is a book for anyone interested in their own personality and how it helps or hinders their everyday life.

We all have had the experience of being divided, of being in two minds'' about something - one part of us wants to do this, another wants to do that. Subpersonalities is the first book to do justice to the phenomenon as a normal feature of our psychological life. John Rowan argues that we all have a number of personalities that express themselves in different situations and that by recognising them we can come to understand ourselves better and improve our relationships with others. Anyone reading this book will run the risk of making quite new discoveries about themselves. In looking at where subpersonalities come from, John Rowan explores the work of psychologists and psychotherapists, from Jung and Freud onwards, and adds insights gained from his own work as a therapist and counsellor. He relates the journey of discovery that he himself undertook in search of his own subpersonalities. The result is a fascinating book that challenges our accepted view of ourselves and provides an intriguing picture of how human beings work and why communication between them so often goes wrong. Subpersonalties is a book for anyone interested in their own personality and how it helps or hinders their everyday life.

Have you ever felt there is more than one you? That sometimes you are one type of person, sometimes another? Do you ever find yourself saying `yes'' when you meant to say `no''? Or deciding to do one thing, then actually doing another?Most of us have had this experience of another personality taking us over, causing us to behave in an unintended way. Why do we do it? What''s going on? Well known psychologist and writer John Rowan shows how each of us is made up of a number of `subpersonalities''. Some may help us, some may hinder us. If we want to be in charge of our inner world we had better find out who they are and what they do. John Rowan has written this book specifically to enable you to do this. Lively and entertaining, with questionnaires and simple exercises, Discover Your Subpersonalities will enable you to get to know the people inside you!

Have you ever felt there is more than one you? That sometimes you are one type of person, sometimes another? Do you ever find yourself saying `yes'' when you meant to say `no''? Or deciding to do one thing, then actually doing another?Most of us have had this experience of another personality taking us over, causing us to behave in an unintended way. Why do we do it? What''s going on? Well known psychologist and writer John Rowan shows how each of us is made up of a number of `subpersonalities''. Some may help us, some may hinder us. If we want to be in charge of our inner world we had better find out who they are and what they do. John Rowan has written this book specifically to enable you to do this. Lively and entertaining, with questionnaires and simple exercises, Discover Your Subpersonalities will enable you to get to know the people inside you!

Personification discusses the theory behind multiplicity of the person and considers the implications that the relationships between the different parts of the same person have in practice. Providing both historical and contemporary insights John Rowan reveals new thinking and research in the field, as well as offering guidelines for using this information in practice.

The book also looks closely at the practice of personification – a technique involving the turning of a problem into a person and allowing a two-way dialogue through which the inner critic can be addressed and explored.

As such areas of discussion include:

This practical, straightforward book will be ideal reading for anyone using personification in their therapeutic work, including psychotherapists, counsellors and coaches.

Personification discusses the theory behind multiplicity of the person and considers the implications that the relationships between the different parts of the same person have in practice. Providing both historical and contemporary insights John Rowan reveals new thinking and research in the field, as well as offering guidelines for using this information in practice.

The book also looks closely at the practice of personification – a technique involving the turning of a problem into a person and allowing a two-way dialogue through which the inner critic can be addressed and explored.

As such areas of discussion include:

This practical, straightforward book will be ideal reading for anyone using personification in their therapeutic work, including psychotherapists, counsellors and coaches.

This original and pioneering study of how men relate to feminism will appeal to all men who are concerned about their response to the women’s movement and to the women in their lives. It will also be helpful for women seeking a constructive response from men. John Rowan, drawing on his personal journey through feminism and on his considerable experience as a therapist, tackles the issues in a much deeper way than has been attempted before.

For men to discover feminism is wounding for them. It can even make them despair about being men at all. But unless they accept that wound, nothing much will change. John Rowan shows that men have to heal that wound at a conscious social-political level, changing laws, practice and daily behaviour. They have to heal it at an unconscious level, through therapy, exploring their profound feelings about their mothers, their fathers and their own internal female nature. They also have to heal the wound at a spiritual-transpersonal level, exploring the world of the Goddess and the Horned God. Only then, says, John Rowan, can they start to have any real dialogue with women, and only then can the world begin to change for both men and women.

This original and pioneering study of how men relate to feminism will appeal to all men who are concerned about their response to the women’s movement and to the women in their lives. It will also be helpful for women seeking a constructive response from men. John Rowan, drawing on his personal journey through feminism and on his considerable experience as a therapist, tackles the issues in a much deeper way than has been attempted before.

For men to discover feminism is wounding for them. It can even make them despair about being men at all. But unless they accept that wound, nothing much will change. John Rowan shows that men have to heal that wound at a conscious social-political level, changing laws, practice and daily behaviour. They have to heal it at an unconscious level, through therapy, exploring their profound feelings about their mothers, their fathers and their own internal female nature. They also have to heal the wound at a spiritual-transpersonal level, exploring the world of the Goddess and the Horned God. Only then, says, John Rowan, can they start to have any real dialogue with women, and only then can the world begin to change for both men and women.

In the years since it was first published, The Reality Game has become a classic text. For all those training and practising in humanistic and integrative psychotherapy it is an essential guide to good practice, and an excellent introduction to the skills used in individual and group therapy. This new edition has been updated to take into account changes in the field and John Rowan''s own work, while still providing guidance on establishing and developing the relationship between counsellor and client, and covering: assessment; the initial interview; the opening session; aims; transference; resistance and supervision.

With the student’s needs always at the forefront, this extensively revised new edition responds to the questions most often asked by trainees in these disciplines, and includes discussions of ethics and new chapters on transpersonal psychology, and on dialogical self-theory. It will be a must read for psychotherapists and counsellors in practice and training especially those involved in humanistic and integrative psychotherapy.