Summer reading/2nd career

[psyapps]

I was going to post this in the 2nd career thread, but I'd also like to start a ‘reading’ thread, so figured 2 birds...

I'm starting a psyd program this fall - very excited. I worked in the world of financial technology for about 10 years, completed a masters in counseling part time and volunteered at a few residential centers here and there.

It took about 3 years of living a 'double life'; would have been quicker if I didn't have horrible undergrad grades (could have skipped the MA). Now I'm just 2 weeks away from finally shedding the shackles of the soul stealing corporate world. Ok, maybe just being self congratulatory with this post. But I have to admit, it’s pretty sweet to think of a world where I don’t have Microsoft Excel in front of me 40 hours a week. Surreal even.

Anwayz, been trying to build up my reading list for a trip I'm taking between work and school. Looking for both light hearted fare and some old classics that all psychologists should read but most likely won’t be found on a syllabus (like Jung, man and his symbols)

I recently came across Irvin Yalom's 'Lying on the Couch' and enjoyed it, looking forward to checking his other works. I like the 'quasi fictional’ patient accounts. Are there other authors in a similar class that I have yet to find?

and what ‘classics’ would you consider to be essential for psychologists to read but under represented in most of today's programs?

Cheers all.

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[Annakei]

I believe you can get this on paperback but the Three Faces of Eve is pretty good. Read the book and then get the movie.

 

[LM02]

Well, my gut reaction is to encourage you to relax on your vacation. But I also remember the enthusiasm I had before starting grad school, and know that I wouldn't have listened to the above advice.

So, with that said, I would recommend the following:

Wachtel's Therapeutic Communication is a great general introduction to psychotherapy.

Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor (an animal trainer) is a great refresher on basic principles of reinforcement. And, despite the fact that the author is neither a psychologist nor a therapist, it is a commonly-used book in doctoral-level behavior therapy courses/practica.

I've found both books to be extremely useful yet also easy to read and entertaining - perfect mix for a vacation!

Enjoy!

 

[lazure]

Personally, Yaalom's Love's Executioner annoyed me greatly....for a more philosophical outlook on psychotherapy and human nature, I recommend Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.
But if you must read on your trip, take some good plain fiction .... you'll have plenty of reading come September....

 

[Shatani]

Well, my gut reaction is to encourage you to relax on your vacation. But I also remember the enthusiasm I had before starting grad school, and know that I wouldn't have listened to the above advice.

So, with that said, I would recommend the following:

Wachtel's Therapeutic Communication is a great general introduction to psychotherapy.

Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor (an animal trainer) is a great refresher on basic principles of reinforcement. And, despite the fact that the author is neither a psychologist nor a therapist, it is a commonly-used book in doctoral-level behavior therapy courses/practica.

I've found both books to be extremely useful yet also easy to read and entertaining - perfect mix for a vacation!

Enjoy!

i second that recommendation...VERY good book!

also Psychoanalytic Diagnosis by Nancy McWilliam......im not really psychoanalytically oriented per se....but it really does a good job of outlining the theories.