In some ways it was almost a disappointment to discover that I'm not so special after all. Kottler drives home (sometimes with unnerving astuteness) the universality and homogeneity of our problems, our concerns, our issues.
Sometimes, it's easy to think that those issues are our own, and unique from other therapist's experiences. There are things a therapist deals with questions, concerns, and burdens with which we wrestle during our training and practice. Nevertheless, here's why I think it's worth your time. Granted, On Being a Therapist is only 320 pages of actual content, but it's a heavy read I wouldn't suggest questing on it lightly! I've had a copy of Les Miserables sitting on my bookshelf for years now I've promised myself that someday I'll read it, but a 1,000 page novel takes serious dedication to work through! In some ways, Kottler's book is like to Les Miserables.
Granted, there are also some books that ought to be approached with a certain measure of commitment, and Kottler's book fits with that sentiment. I believe On Being a Therapist to be one of them. There are some books that pretty much every would-be or practicing therapist ought to read during their tenure as a clinician. If you are already on that path, even if you've been in the field for years, this is a must-read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of pursuing a career in mental health care (it is applicable to a variety of professions including social work but most of the content is specific to one-on-one sessions more indicative of counseling and psychology). This book came at the perfect time in my program, a time where I was being tested by my professors and asked to answer that question "how much do you really want to be a counselor and what does that title mean to you?" Kottler's book was an indispensable part of my process of defining exactly what being a mental health professional means, in general and on a personal level. But then there is the good! and it is so good, so uplifting and inspiring. As a graduate student in Clinical Counseling I found his commentary to be at times frightening, really challenging me to reflect on the path I've chosen by confronting me with the bad and the ugly. Kottler provides the reader with an honest, raw, uncensored look at being a mental health professional. I've read a lot of psych books in the past 6 years but this was by far the most useful.
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