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Daniela V Gitlin MD
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Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist's Life Kindle Edition

by Daniela Gitlin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
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Patient ambushes! Clinician pratfalls! Community curveballs! Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life gives you a fly-on-the-wall view of therapy sessions along with actual transcripts of what’s going through this therapist’s mind as she’s working, living and saving the day (or trying to). What else does this immersive memoir spanning twenty-five years of rural psychiatric practice expose? Flawless performance is not required for a therapist to be genuinely helpful.

Written with unsparing candor and a light touch, these interconnected clinical and personal tales reveal a way of thinking that is essential for learning actively, living fully, and doing good work, with a sense of wonder, year after year. Whether you’re simply curious, already in the field, or a mental health educator, you’re sure to get some ideas for what to do (or not do!) with the people in your life.

“I loved this book. It’s interesting, compelling, and very insightful. I found it a sort of DIY therapy— Ohhh, so that’s how I should approach…. Also, the faux science articles are HILARIOUS.” Lori B. Duff, If You Did What I Asked in the First Place.

“If you have ever wondered what a shrink’s life is really like – from education, to training, to the large and small details of treating other people’s inner pain every day– this book is for you. Gitlin’s stories about her career as a psychiatrist in an underserved rural community are warm, funny, human, and deeply humane.” Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life; Good Husbandry

“You’ll enjoy this witty, scintillating account of treatments rendered to patients living hardscrabble lives. You’ll benefit from her clinical acumen too— I’ve already used some of her nuggets with my own caseload. Noteworthy is her struggle to save her practice when a key insurance company drastically slashes her reimbursement rates. Get ready for an exciting read!” Alvin Pam, Ph.D, Splitting Up: Enmeshment and Estrangement in the Process of Divorce.
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  1. Print length
    356 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    February 27, 2020
  5. File size
    1970 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0859NDG93
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 27, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1970 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 31 ratings

About the author

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Daniela V Gitlin MD

Daniela V Gitlin MD

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Daniela V. Gitlin, MD is a rural psychiatrist in private practice north of the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. In addition to seeing patients, running the practice, empty nesting and staying married, she writes for "The Psychotherapy Networker," blogs at danielagitlin.com, and has the next book under construction.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jafster
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, engaging and compassionate!
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
Gitlin is a true storyteller with true stories to tell of clients and their struggles, and a psychiatrist’s struggles to help them. Practice, Practice, Practice pulls back the veil of psychiatry to reveals the humanity behind the science. A remarkable, entertaining and hope-filled read!

dj
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staci n cottone
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is one of my all time favorites
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Have you ever read a book that touches your heart and soul? A book so good that you have to read it twice? This book will do that for you. Daniela V Gitlin, MD is a gifted writer that pulls you in, makes you laugh, makes you cry, and teaches you how be a problem solver. She shows her thought process, which is fascinating, and she has a great sense of humor too. You will think about this book long after you have finished reading it. Dr. Gitlin is a ROCKSTAR! I can't wait to see what she writes next.
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Teri Foltz
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look “behind the scenes”
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
I love when writers take me into a room wherei can be a fly on the wall and watch and listen. Without identifying any patient, we get to hear the thoughts inside a psychiatrist’s mind as they puzzle out the issue plaguing their clients. Dr. Gitlin allows us to see her own vulnerability. The bonus is that you may find some of your own issues in a few of her clients. If you’ve never been to a psychiatrist, you will learn from this book that the relationship between client and doctor is unique. In my opinion, the author should pitch her book to the television studios because I would never miss an episode. So well-written!
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David R Spinowitz
5.0 out of 5 stars One of those books you just can't put down!
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
I was adding books outside of my normal reading selection to broaden my views on life and to learn something new. I have no experience in this field so I was worried a lot of this book would be foreign to me. This turned out to be one of the few books I've read in my life cover to cover, I just could not put it down. The candor and the humor throughout the book just grabs your full attention. Highly recommend to anyone looking for some insight into the life of a Psychiatrist or just looking for a great read that will make you laugh and hold your attention from cover to cover.
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Pam Sievers
5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book hooked me from the very beginning as I learned about the auther's childhood and early years. As she described her educational process, I simultaneously ached and cheered for her. But it was in the patient stories that I became truly lost and had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a novel filled with delicious characters, descriptive settings, and fictional tension, but this was her life as a practicing psychaitrist. This book has applications everyone can benefit from, including the effort it takes to manage her business and her family. An excellent read.
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Lori B. Duff, author of Broken Things
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Funny, and Wise
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2020
This book is a biographical story of a psychological practice. If you’ve ever wondered what the shrink is thinking while you lie on the couch talking about your problems, you can find the answers here.

Dr. Gitlin starts with her remarkable (and sometimes sad and lonely) childhood, and talks about what inspired her to choose psychiatry. She talks about what made her go to medical school instead of getting a PhD and her struggles while there. The book covers the arc of her decades of practice. We watch her mature in her career. Along the way, there are a lot of ah-hah moments, both for Dr. Gitlin and for us. I don’t know if this was her intent, but I found myself making mental notes a number of times of techniques I could use in my own life. The book had a lot of DIY therapy moments.

Despite the subject matter, it was not dense at all. There are a number of interludes that are quite funny, including some vignettes allegedly written by “Dr. I. M. Trapt” who tries out some techniques on her own family and which I will definitely try out on my own.

Practice, Practice, Practice will likely be compared to Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone since the ‘cover flap’ description of their books is similar, and Gottlieb’s book seems to have given her some measure of celebrity. To me, Gitlin wins the comparison hands down. Gottlieb only has a few years of experience, shows little to no insight into the ‘big picture,’ and her personal life is a mess. She seems bored and offended by her clients, and is completely unaware of her privilege. Gitlin, on the other hand, learns as she goes, we can see her mature, and seems to be able to apply her psychological knowledge to her personal life. I wouldn’t want Gottlieb to be my therapist: I’d be lucky to have Gitlin as mine.
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Molly M. Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars Creative non-fiction at its best!
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020
Daniela Gitlin's memoir of her life as a psychiatrist had me in its grip from the very first page. Starting with her growing up years, she revealed enough about early traumatic events to give me insight but never made me feel sorry for her. She applied this same balance as she described the grueling years of training and subsequent years of practicing and growing as a psychiatrist. Telling her story with humor, humility, and a good measure of compassion made for a compelling read. I would say her drive to 'practice, practice, practice' paid off for her professionally, and also as a writer. I'm looking forward to her next book!
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Kathy E.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2021
Dr. Gitlin's book gives the reader a fascinating insight into not only patients' lives and issues, but to her own development as a medical student all the way through running a vibrant psychiatric practice. We are given the opportunity to sneak into a seldom-known area of life, sharing her frustrations and successes, with the side effect of laughter. Highly recommend!
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