Psychological Type Therapy
A Practitioner’s Guide to Strengthening Relationships

Reviews

"This book introduces an innovative method of integrating psychological type preferences into theory-driven case conceptualization. Gerrard and Shinefield’s Psychological Type Relationship Scale (PTRS) and the Psychological Type Relationship Inventory (PTRI) are useful tools for facilitating meaningful conversations about how psychological type characteristics can be expressed differently within different relationships and settings. The authors also stress the importance of therapists being able to help clients identify not only the strengths of their psychological type characteristics, but also the challenges that each type may experience. I appreciate the examples of possible challenges and concrete suggestions for helping clients develop all of their psychological type characteristics. In addition, the authors’ Therapist Type Inventory encourages therapists to examine how their own psychological types may impact how they work with clients, and is an excellent tool for stimulating therapists’ self-reflection." — Carol E. Buchholz Holland, PhD, associate professor and school counseling coordinator, Counselor Education Program, North Dakota State University

"This book is an excellent example of a well-written "How To" text on the exploration and utilization of Psychological Type in expanding the range of abilities and behaviors of all humans, regardless of type. Its inclusion of the importance of context in the development and expression of psychological type is a novel and useful way of integrating psychological type into diverse forms of therapeutic theory and technique. I especially appreciate the detailed description of its use in family therapy work in both theory and practice, and the case studies that are included are wonderful examples to learn from. This is a vital addition to any therapist's essential reading list, regardless of their theoretical orientation." — Michael J. Carter, PhD, coordinator, School-Based Family Counseling Graduate Program; director, School-Based Family Counseling Clinic, California State University, Los Angeles

"An original and valuable contribution to applying psychological type theory in its MBTI sense. In particular, the authors treat type development as central and draw on their extensive experience of diverse approaches to counselling and psychotherapy." — Rowan Bayne, emeritus professor of Psychology and Counselling, University of East London, UK

"The authors illuminate the keys to success with various forms of relationship therapy through the lens of psychological types. This is a guide for every therapist on how to match a particular therapeutic course of action with the client’s personality style. The authors use clinical examples to explain why a particular regimen is more likely to have success for a particular client. Additionally, the clinician is challenged to develop their own personality characteristics to better implement the therapy regimen. I highly recommend this book to enhance the quality of any therapeutic relationship." — Ernest Brown, PhD, senior case manager, Richmond Area Multi-Services, School Based/Juvenile Justice Involved Wellness, San Francisco, California

"Much has been written about psychological type, however few books explore how this might be integrated into practice. In this book, the authors provide an overview of psychological type and assessment providing mental health practitioners a sound, evidence-based foundation to explore the use of psychological type in working with clients. The strength of this book is the focus on how we might use psychological type to help strengthen the development of personality qualities with our clients. The authors explore practice frameworks based on Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, and Family therapy to provide methods for integrating psychological type into our work. This practice manual is essential reading for both beginning and advanced practitioners alike." —Robyne Le Brocque, PhD, honorary senior lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Social Work, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

"Psychological Type Therapy is a gift to all therapists which surely can enrich our understanding of Jung’s concept of psychological type and also provide us one more useful therapeutic intervention that can be applied to a wide range of potential users. What I like most is that this book provides a Psychological Type Relationship Inventory to help us collect information about our relationship with a specific person. Moreover, there are chapters elaborating strategies for developing the different dimensions of our personality type. This is a great tool for any person that would like to apply Psychological Type Theory in their clinical practice." — Dr. Yeung Ka Ching, principal lecturer, director of Solution-Focused Therapy Training Center, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong

The stigma surrounding mental health has made it challenging to discuss personality traits and their ensuing impact on interpersonal relationships. Gerrard and Shinefield present evidence based strategies that demystify and destigmatize conversations on personality, while providing tools to develop one’s personality characteristics. This creates opportunities to enter into conversation about personality in a way that is non-pathological, by focusing on a strength-based model, which is in itself empowering, while still not ignoring possible challenges. I am excited to incorporate the lessons of Psychological Type Therapy in my daily clinical practice. — Daniel Emina, MD, child, adolescent, & adult psychiatrist, associate medical director, Amen Clinics Inc.