The advice in this book is drawn from notes taken over forty-five years of clinical practice by Irvin Yalom. It is a unique blend of ideas and methods he found useful in his work. These ideas are deeply personal, subjective, and at times original, unlikely to be encountered elsewhere. Yalom selected eighty-five topics by random choice. The first section (chapters 1—40) is devoted to the nature of the psychotherapist-patient relationship, especially the "here and now", the use of the psychotherapist's "self", and therapist self-disclosure. The next section (41—51) shifts from process to content and offers methods to explore ultimate concerns — death, isolation, meaning of life, and freedom (including responsibility and decision-making). The third section (52—76) discusses a range of issues arising in everyday psychotherapy practice. In the fourth section (77—83), Yalom covers the use of dreams in therapy. The final section (84—85) examines the dangers and privileges of the psychotherapist's craft.