One of the greatest modern psychotherapists and the most literary gifted, Yalom is the author of fascinating novels that turn even skeptical readers of psychotherapy into adherents. We want you to discover this author for yourself. Here are excerpts from his new book and an exclusive interview.
In one of his books, Yalom admits that when the queue to see him stretches for months, he advises future patients not to waste time waiting, but to read one of his books for now. After such a reading, some realize that they no longer need psychotherapy. They feel healed. What is the secret of the therapeutic effect of Yalom’s works? Firstly, all of his novels are masterfully written and read in one breath. Secondly, the author frankly discusses topics that concern any person, but which we instinctively try to avoid: the inevitability of death, the struggle with loneliness, the fear of responsibility for one’s own life. However, unlike other existentialist writers, Yalom does not plunge the reader into the depths of despair, but confidently leads him to a new, more courageous and joyful perception of the world. Moreover, he does this without annoying edification, but with the deep conviction of a professional who knows how to help even the most desperate patient.
Irwin D. Yalom was born in a poor Washington ghetto, the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia. He spent his childhood reading books, having «swallowed» Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky very early, and then Sartre and Camus. “Even as a child, I had the conviction,” writes Yalom in his autobiography, “that the best thing a person can do in life is to write a novel.” This conviction remained with him throughout his life.
Entering the medical faculty, he already knew that he would study psychiatry. Yalom believes that for each person it is necessary to design a separate therapy. Adherence to this principle led him further and further away from traditional psychiatry with its standard diagnoses and uniform prescriptions. His first book was a textbook on group therapy. In 1980, he published his main theoretical work, Existential Psychotherapy, which sold millions of copies. Later, fiction books about psychotherapy were written: “The Love Cure”, “When Nietzsche Wept”, “Liar on the Couch”, “Mommy and the Meaning of Life”
In his new novel Schopenhauer as a Medicine, recently translated into Russian, Yalom remains true to himself. Its characters are a terminally ill psychotherapist who is painfully trying to rethink his life and career, and his former patient is a sexual aggressor who found a new meaning in life in Schopenhauer’s philosophy. But, perhaps, the main character is the process of group psychotherapy itself, described with documentary detail and exciting tension.
Yalom calls his novels «pedagogical» because it is very important for him to share the essence of his work with others. The essence of this lies in the relationship between the therapist and his client, which is the driving force behind any therapy. Despite his constantly emphasized existential convictions, in his attitude to the psychotherapeutic process, Yalom remains a psychoanalyst: as for Freud, psychotherapy for him is a detective investigation, solving a riddle, a persistent search for truth. Only this is no longer the truth of the past — infantile sexuality, the Oedipus complex and childhood traumas — but the truth of the «four givens» of human existence: loneliness, inevitable death, existential freedom and the meaninglessness of life. The author does not embellish anything, on the contrary, he openly demonstrates the whole psychotherapeutic “kitchen” with its sometimes unattractive details, however, the work of a psychotherapist described by him looks like an incredibly exciting activity. Only those who are truly in love with this profession can talk about psychotherapy in this way. We hope that after reading the interview with Irvin Yalom and excerpts from his novel, you will want to see for yourself.
Extracts from the novel
Psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld learns that his days are numbered. What will ease his despair — philosophy or his work?
Julius knew as well as anyone else what was commonly said about death. He agreed with the Stoics, who argued: “When we are born, we die,” and with Epicurus, who argued: “While I am here, there is no death, and when it comes, I will not be. Why be afraid of her?» As a doctor and psychotherapist, he himself repeated something similar more than once, sitting at the bedside of the dying. But, although he considered it his duty to inspire his clients with these unhappy truths, it never occurred to him that one day they could be useful to him. At least until that terrible moment a month ago that changed his life forever. It happened during the annual scheduled check-up at the doctor. His doctor, Herb Katz, an old friend and former classmate, had finished his routine and allowed Julius to get dressed, waiting for him in his office for the final talk. Herb sat at the table, fiddling with Julius’ card. […] “You need to see a dermatologist, Julius. Go to Bob King, he sits in the next building. Here is his phone. Do you know him? Julius nodded. […] «It’s okay, but let him see.» Julius caught the wariness and feigned nonchalance in Herb’s voice. No, there could be no mistake: this phrase — «pigmentation is uneven, and the edges are fuzzy», thrown between his own, was an alarming sign. Code, encryption, which could mean only one thing — a serious suspicion of melanoma. Only later, looking back, Julius realized that it was from this phrase, from that very moment, that his former carefree life ended and death, until then invisible, appeared before him in all its disgusting guise. Death came for good, was not going to leave him for a moment, and the whole further nightmare became only the epilogue of its appearance.
A few days later, when Julius calmed down a bit and panic attacks began to occur less and less, he was finally able to think about the future. Bob King said «one year» — «it’s hard to say, but I think at least a year you can not worry about anything.» How to live this year? First of all, Julius decided, don’t turn this good year into a bad one just because it’s only a year and nothing more. One night, unable to sleep and wanting something to distract himself, he absently sorted through the books in his library. He had already managed to look through everything that was written in his field, but he could not find anything that even somehow suited his current state. Nowhere was it said how to live, what to look for support when you had only a few days left. Suddenly, Nietzsche’s old, tattered book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, caught his eye. […] Too excited to read everything in a row, he began to flip through the pages, picking out at random passages that he himself had once underlined. «Change «it happened» to «that’s how I wanted» — that’s what I’m ready to call true salvation. In relation to his present position, this idea of Nietzsche could mean only one thing: he had to choose his own life, to live it, instead of letting it do it for him. In other words, he had to love his fate. […] Putting the Zarathustra in its place, Julius sat in the dark for a while, thinking over Nietzsche’s words and watching the lights of the cars running across the Golden Gate Bridge. A few minutes later it «snapped»: he understood what he would do, how he would live his last year. He will live it in exactly the same way as he lived his last year — and the year before last, and the year before last. He loved his work, loved to communicate with people, to awaken something new in their lives. Of course, this could have been an escape from the loss of a wife; maybe he needed applause, recognition, gratitude from those he helped. Well, so be it, though not entirely unselfishly, but he was grateful for his work. God bless her!»
“All the more, I think that the philosophy of Schopenhauer would be very useful to you. I remember once in our session you once said that life is «variable conditions with a constant result»; this is pure Schopenhauer. Philip, that was a joke. — So what? Don’t we know what your own guru, Sigmund Freud, said about jokes? I still believe that you will find much useful in Schopenhauer’s ideas. “I haven’t become your supervisor yet—and it remains to be seen if I will—but let me give you your first psychotherapy lesson—for free, of course. Neither ideas, nor views, nor techniques have any meaning in it. Ask former patients what they remember about their treatment? No one will hint at ideas — everyone will only talk about relationships. Few people remember what exactly the doctor instilled in them, but everyone fondly recalls their relationship with the psychotherapist. I would venture to guess that you had the same. Why is everything that happened between us so deeply engraved in your memory that even now, after many years, you decided to turn to me? […] I think you were quite attached to me, and precisely because our relationship, for all its complexity, was so important to you, you now turned to me again in the hope of restoring some personal contact. “Mistakes on all counts, Dr. Hertzfeld…”
He had already informed his friends and clients about his illness and was now terribly worried, preparing to “open up” to the group. It must be, he thought, that he loves her too much. For twenty-five years he looked forward to every class. A group is not just a group of like-minded people. She has her own special life, her own unique character. Of those who started once, now there is no one left, except, of course, himself, but the soul of the group, its character (in professional language — «unwritten rules») remained unchanged. No one could say exactly what these rules were, but everyone was able to accurately determine whether this or that behavior was acceptable in a group. […] Telling the group about his illness meant a lot to him. It is one thing to be frank with family, with friends, with everyone who is with you on this side of the barricades, and it is quite another to drop the mask in front of your main audience, a group of the elite, for whom you are a guru, doctor, magician and priest. It meant burning bridges, admitting that everything is over for you and only a gloomy, bottomless abyss lies ahead. Have I changed, become wiser? Has my golden age arrived? Perhaps I have become closer to myself — maybe this is my main change. And I also know that as a psychotherapist I have become a better person — my hearing has become sharper. Yes, I have definitely changed. Would I ever allow myself to declare that I am in love with my band before? It wouldn’t even occur to me to talk about something personal … Julius shook his head — these are really miracles, he thought. I seem to have developed a tendency to go against the current, against my own rules, against myself. […] Jung once remarked that only a sick doctor heals for real — of course, he meant something else, but who knows, maybe in order to teach patients to work on themselves, psychotherapists should sometimes expose their wounds?
Philip stood at the end of the corridor, his face turned to the wall, and with his hand under his head, wept. Julius walked up to him and put his arm around his shoulders. “It’s good that you let it all out. And now we need to go back. Philip, sighing convulsively, shook his head resolutely and began to sob even louder. “You must return, my boy. That’s what you came here for—this very moment, and you shouldn’t give it up. You did a good job today — exactly what you should have done to become a therapist. There are only a few minutes left until the end of class. Just come and sit with us — I’ll make sure everything is in order. Philip reached out and quickly, just for a moment, rested his hand on Julius’s, then straightened up and returned with Julius to the room. […] – How are you, Julius? Bonnie asked. — You look tired. “No, no, I feel great. I feel so good, I simply admire you, my friends, and I am glad that this is also my merit. To be honest, I can barely stand on my feet, but I still have gunpowder, so I will have enough for our last lesson.