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The Good Psychologist (2010)

by Noam Shpancer(Favorite Author)

3.39 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0805092595 (ISBN13: 9780805092592)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Henry Holt and Co.

review 1: Noam Shpancer's debut novel offers an insightful look at the life of a clinical psychologist who splits his days between his private practice and teaching semi-interested college students. His latest client presents with a case of anxiety which is preventing her from continuing her career as an exotic dancer, or stripper.Through the course of the story, the never named psychologist works to get his client to understand the root of her anxiety while he himself engages in an unhealthy relationship with a married woman who remains devoted to her sickly husband. The tensions between the psychologist and his paramour and between his client's mob-connected boss and himself provide the narrative thrust that allows us to explore the world of clinical psychology. The scenes with th... moree college students serve as a juxtaposition for it is in the safe confines of an educational setting where the psychologist shines. Whatever doubts he harbors about the moral appropriateness of returning his client to the stage and pole are obliterated by the confidence he displays when engaging his students to think beyond themselves.My wife recently completed her master's degree in clinical social work and also read this book; she commented that the psychologists constant reminder to remove one's self-perspective was accurate as it reminded her of the dangers inherent in counter-transference.The linguistic style may be off-putting to those not familiar with or not interested in the clinical setting. It can be dry at times and is very detached. This very detachment, so necessary in the clinical setting, may be hindering the psychologist in her personal life.Overall, a good read, though not as in-depth as I would have liked. At times it reads like case-study vignettes, which may not be everyone's cup of tea.
review 2: I am not sure whether this is truly a work of fiction, or if it isn't simply a soliloquy by the author, using the construct of a story to explore the value of a life examined. One reviewer has pointed out that "nothing happens" in this novel. Nothing happens, but everything happens in terms of perspective and understanding. The story is about mental shifts, and much less so about actual events.I was haunted by this book, and found myself thinking about it long after I finished reading it. The characters go on with their lives---for most of them, nothing is different---but how they interpret their lives is changed, and their transformed internal narrative gives greater value and meaning to those lives. As a work of fiction I think this book is frustrating. I found the psychologist pompous and arcane in his tedious lectures. But as an exploration of the potential of psychology to enrich human lives, I found it compelling. less

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