Couch Fiction: A Graphic Tale of Psychotherapy

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The novel focuses on the psychoanalysis of James Clarkson Smith and shows his progress from scared new client to healthy individual, with all of the ups and downs of therapy interposed. It is more of a resource than a tale- it gives interesting insights into the unsaid elements of a therapy session.

From the therapist perspective it was interesting to have an insight into her thoughts during the therapy process. Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall). As a psych student I found it quite interesting as there are not many options out there for seeing what sessions are like aside from wildly exaggerated Hollywood renditions or thrillers. Perry (she is a therapist herself) includes author's notes on almost every page that explain the importance of the scene depicted on the page.

With most of the pictures, illustrated by an unknown artist Junko Graat, there are footnotes that provide more theoretical reflections, and explain the importance of a scene. It was easy to sit and read this in one sitting mainly because it’s so accessible and also interesting. Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here. She wrote this book because she wanted to describe what life can be like as a therapist and as a client.

First off, the "characters" never seem real but just cyphers for the author to put into situations that can put forward psychotherapy instruction. I really liked it - I think it would be interesting to therapists and people who've been to therapy (and curious others).JUNKO GRAAT (illustrator) trained and worked as a graphic designer in Japan and came to England to study European horticulture. A wonderful insight into the psychotherapist's couch from the perspective of both the client and the psychotherapist. Patricia Phillips practices psychoanalytic psychotherapy (think Freud here, guys), but is not a perfect therapist.