Therapeutic communication

the long version

A descriptive guide to the communication process as the central agent in mental healing. In this volume, Dr. Ruesch develops the challenging idea that communication is the basic medium of mental healing. If abnormal behavior frequently is the result of disturbed communication, the remedial measures, both verbal and nonverbal, aim at restoring a gratifying exchange between people. Dr. Ruesch discusses the communicative approaches known in psychiatry--the psychotherapeutic procedures used by professionals and also the informal ways in which family and friends help each other. Emotional support, counseling, and interpretation occur just--or even more--frequently in daily life as in the doctor's office, and are based on processes that can be subsumed under the heading of "therapeutic communication." Explaining these processes in simple, non-technical language, Dr. Ruesch provides valuable practical insights for all those concerned with helping other people in distress.