WHAT PSYCHOTHERAPY CAN AND CANNOT DO

The announcement of the release of Love and Knowledge: The quest for personal meaning by South Garden Press. A book that is a seamless integration of poetry, philosophy and psychology helping the reader feel the relevance of psychotherapy to dilemmas in relationships

NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2002 ¡V Psychotherapy can¡¦t make you happy, but it can substantially increase your chances of recognizing and accepting happiness when it comes your way. So says James Donnelly, DSW in his new book Love and Knowledge: The quest for personal meaning recently released by South Garden Press in New York.

¡§Therapy guides you to the discovery of your anchor amidst the surrounding storms of life -- an approach to psychotherapy quite relevant for America 2002,¡¨ says Dr. Donnelly.

¡§Love and Knowledge is better than another self-help book or a new theory of psychotherapy¡¨ commented John Bayley, author of Elegy for Iris. The description of therapy is an excellent orientation to a process that all too often is seen as somewhat mysterious and intimidating. If you have ever considered psychotherapy ¡V or even if you¡¦ve been there ¡V this paperback is a must read.

Love and Knowledge demystifies psychotherapy and places its relevance squarely in the center of the realities of every day living. Both the prose and, in the second half of the book, the poems take you on a journey from the loss of innocence to the discovery of freedom, love and truth in relationships.

Facing the reality of life¡¦s caprice and developing the courage to discover a solid ground from which to renegotiate one¡¦s relationships are among the themes in this compact and insightful little volume.

Reader Comments
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ƒÞ   John Bayley, Oxford literary critic and author of Elegy for Iris, remarked: ¡§I love the idea of a book one can be comfortable in ¡V prose and verse, but a book as good and as moving as Love and Knowledge is hard to find.¡¨

ƒÞ    Maurice Friedman, well-known authority on the philosopher Martin Buber, and author of The Healing Dialogue in Psychotherapy felt Love and Knowledge ¡§showed forth a luminous spirit¡¨ relevant for our times.

ƒÞ   Several readers emphasized how the book helped clarify their own experience of therapy: ¡§I wish I had read this book before I went to therapy!¡¨ ¡§Love and Knowledge has helped me understand what to expect from both myself and my therapist in my therapy.¡¨ ¡§Love and Knowledge was incredibly relevant to the issues I have struggled with in therapy. I wish that my experience of therapy had been presented with the clarity and compassion I found in your book¡¨.

Opening the Door for Client and Therapist

Doctor, secretary, lawyer, firefighter, sales clerk, business executive¡Kwhatever your occupation or educational background, the recommendation for psychotherapy generates questions and anxieties. How can talking to someone about my problems do anything but make me feel worse? How do I know if a therapist is able to help me? What is psychotherapy supposed to do?

¡§People struggling with feelings of depression and uncertainty can experience increased vulnerability when asked to enter a process where they have no idea what to expect,¡¨ says Dr. Donnelly. Love and Knowledge can help open the door to a field about which misconceptions abound, and one in which promises and claims of the latest fad foster unrealistic expectations.

Further, in a society that values consumer education, therapists look for ways to orient and engage their clients in a timely and effective manner. Consumers have little patience with explanations that are vague and not directly related to their experience.

¡§Love and Knowledge provides an effective tool for therapists to educate clients about how therapy addresses the dilemmas they are experiencing in relationships and their struggles with control and self-esteem,¡¨ says Dr. Donnelly.

Competent therapists know that therapy is a struggle with no quick fix. They will welcome the clarity and realism in the portrayal of psychotherapy presented in Love and Knowledge.
About the Author
James Donnelly, DSW is a certified social worker trained in family therapy. From his 30 years of experience as a therapist in New York, he has condensed in this little volume a frame for psychotherapy that is clear, practical and valuable to practitioners as well as for anyone engaged or interested in psychotherapy.
Love and Knowledge: The quest for personal meaning is published by South Garden Press. Priced at $12.95, plus shipping, it is distributed by Bookmasters Inc. and Ingram Inc. (800) 247-6553 or order@bookmasters.com . It is currently available at www.southgardenpress.com, www.amazon.com, www.bn.com (Barnes and Noble) and www.atlasbooks.com. It will soon be available in local bookstores. Look for it!

Note: James Donnelly, author and therapist, is available for interviews and presentations. Call Roberta Horton at the above number to schedule him. Review copies and book/author photos available upon request.