The Essence of Therapy

In this book, Mo Mandić explores the very phenomenon of therapy, based on the fundamental question of being human, in order that therapy itself might be better understood in the light of this. Psychotherapy, historically understood as a theory and practice that has emerged and developed over the past 120 years, has made few attempts to explore what it is that most fundamentally constitutes therapy from an experiential perspective. This book offers a language in which readers can understand the way in which therapy unfolds, how it ‘happens’ and what gives it its essential character. It discusses the key elements of this form of caring for and towards the human being that distinguishes it from psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and social care. The book is presented in fourteen main sections, each exploring a central feature that constitutes the essence of therapy. Concrete examples are also included where appropriate, in order to illustrate and emphasise the practical relevance and importance of another way of thinking both about and within therapy. The book’s contents will be accessible to new and experienced therapists, trainees, and students who wish to engage in a more primordial understanding of therapy.