"The Mummy at the Dining Room Table: Eminent Therapists Reveal Their Most Unusual Cases" by Jeffrey A Kottler & Jon Carlson

Book Details:
Title: The Mummy at the Dining Room Table: Eminent Therapists Reveal Their Most Unusual Cases
Author: Jeffrey A. Kottler & Jon Carlson
Published: 2003 by Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 0-7879-6541-3
Pages: 325 pages
Genre: Nonfiction- Psychology
Rating: 4 of 5
Read In: 6 days

My Review:
I was absolutely fascinated by the stories in this book, and amazed at some of the behaviors and situations therapists have to counsel through! "The Mummy at the Dining Room Table" is a collection of the most memorable cases seen by thirty prominent therapists, and what the therapists learned about life, love, and human beings as a whole. Some of the patients are memorable to their therapists because they are in terrible situations, or have lived through traumatizing events, and risen to the challenge of picking themselves up and moving on with their lives. Others are memorable because they find the patient in a strange situation or condition and the reader can't help but laugh and be thankful that whatever they have gone through in their lifetime, it probably doesn't compare the the lives of these patients. Several actually had me laughing out loud at the craziness these people have managed to achieve in their daily lives.

While this book was an especially eye-opening look into the human mind and the vast field of psychology and other related fields, one thing I wasn't particularly happy about was the authors' apparent assumption that anyone who reads this book is familiar with the different distinctive types of group and individual therapy, hypnosis, psychology, psychiatry, and the various theories and methods practiced in these professions. The authors introduce each spotlighted therapist at the beginning of their chapter, highlighting their respective accolades and chosen therapy methods, but as a layman, it didn't matter if a therapist follows Jungian or Rogerian methods, because I have no idea what either of them entail. While the authors do attempt to describe some of the terminology used, the meanings weren't always clear to me, leaving me still confused as to what exactly this therapist plans to do to treat the patient.

Overall, however, I found this book very educational and entertaining. It's interesting to see what cases these therapists found to be the most memorable, out of the thousands they handle throughout their careers. Any reader, especially those interested in psychology, will be thrilled with the stories and insights in this book. I give it four out of five stars and recommend no one pass up the opportunity to read it.