Reviews
What People are Saying about Waterfalls of Therapy
Dr. Michael Elliott’s Waterfalls is the poetic expression of dialogue, both internal and external, between therapist and client. I laughed, cried, and became very still while reading this amazing collection of verse.
Robin Rice, Marriage, Family Therapist and Licensed Educational Psychologist
Michael Elliott takes us on a poetic journey through the psychotherapy process, eschewing jargon, and embracing human connection and healing conversations along the way. His poetry is embedded in therapeutic dialogues where simplicity and a subtle turn of the phrase opens to the depths of struggle, hope, and change. In this era of the medicalization of human suffering and high-tech substitutions for real human connection, Elliott’s poetry humanizes our endeavor to live fully. The reader is invited into a wonderous journey of deep psychotherapy, deep poetry, and deep humanity. With Waterfalls, we come to the fruition of mutual self-reflection in a trusting human relationship, yielding the power, grace, and change that comes with the rivers and waterfalls of life.
Randall C. Wyatt, PhD, Psychologist, Associate Professor, California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco
I have known Michael as a friend and therapist for 36 years. His book of poetry, Waterfalls of Therapy, underscores the value in avoiding confronting the client. The poetry clearly reflects the absence of illness on the part of the client and, rather, the presence of a dialogue aimed at resolving conflict and struggle in the client’s life by focusing on the confusions, contradictions and uncertainties in the life of the client.
Sohan Lal Sharma, PhD, Diplomate in Clinical Psychology; Author of The Therapeutic Dialogue: A Theoretical and Practical Guide to Psychotherapy
Over my career I’ve read many technical books and articles about psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. Doctor Elliott’s book is unique, in that in its poetry it captures the dance, the lyrics, the song, and the magic inherent in the therapeutic relationship.
Paul Jurkowski MD, Medical Director, Bay Area Community Services, Oakland, California
