LiveWorld Transcripts

Time Warner Bookmark presents

Dr. Willard Gaylin
Author of "Talk Is Not Enough: How Psychotherapy Really Works"

March 16, 2000

Is the "talking cure" of psychotherapy really worth the time and money millions of people put into it? How does it work when it works, and why does it sometimes fail?

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TWBookmark: Welcome to TimeWarnerBookmark! Warner Books and The Talk City Network are proud to present our special guest for tonight, Willard Gaylin one of the nation's most honored psychiatrists and author of "Talk Is Not Enough: How Psychotherapy Really Works." The so-called 'talking cure' is widely misunderstood and highly controversial. Is psychotherapy really worth the time and money millions of people put into it? How does it work when it works, and why does it sometimes fail? Thank you, Dr. Gaylin, for joining us today in Talk City!

Dr Willard Gaylin: Thank you.

TWBookmark Says: Why did you write this book?

Dr Willard Gaylin: I've been a practicing psychiatrist for over 30 years and a teacher and a theoretician. I recognize that not just the public at large, but also my colleagues, have no idea what, among those many things that transpire in a therapeutic hour, really does the work. So I decided to deconstruct or demystify psychotherapy for the lay person as well as for the professional.

DeeDee Says: Have recent trends in drug therapy reduced the need for psychotherapy?

Dr Willard Gaylin: Yes, they have in a certain number of cases. In a fascinating way, the drug therapies that we now have work best in those areas where the talking cures were less effective. By that, I mean the more extreme psychological dysfunctions - schizophrenia, delusional paranoia, and even depression. For the extreme psychoses, the drugs have been phenomenal. I personally am thankful for that because these are the individuals most disadvantaged and the individuals for whom most of us who practice psychotherapy have offered the least. Having said that, in almost all of these conditions an ongoing relationship with a trusted therapist is an essential - or if not essential, a profoundly valuable - adjunct to the drugs.

Quizno Says: How do you know if psychotherapy is working for you?

Dr Willard Gaylin: It's a real problem only because good therapy generally takes time. There are very few magic cures, and I don't know what conditions current health plans that allow 4 or 5 sessions with a therapist think they are going to cure. It does take time; after all, you come to therapy with a series of real life problems - symptoms, pains, failures of functioning in important areas, inability to work, inability to love, inability to have sex, inability to have pleasure or joy, inability to make attachments. If you come with real problems, then the answer to your question is apparent in time, but please be patient. You ought to begin to see your symptoms improving and your distress diminishing.

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