Dr. Arthur Mones reflects on a 45-year career in psychotherapy and points out what has worked and what mistakes he’s made to provide guidance for new and seasoned practitioners. Dr. Mones traces his own career development in parallel with the historical changes in psychotherapy. The reader is introduced to the Internal Family Systems (IFS) orientation that guides Dr. Mones’ practice and learns how this system can be applied to conceptualize client symptomology from an adaptive strength-based framework to help clients experience improved mental health. Case examples illustrate the use of IFS as a practical treatment for a variety of psychiatric disorders. Callout text, illustrated notation, guided exercises and questions, and defined terms make the text interactive and engaging, making the book suitable for use as a teaching aide in a class, for practitioners to learn a new approach to family therapy, for those interested in learning more about their own mental health and useful strategies to improve functioning, or for clinicians to find companionship in the wisdom, wit, and insightful reflections of Dr. Mones on his academic, clinical, and personal growth in the field of psychotherapy.

The book traces the history of family therapy. It starts with its multidisciplinary origins in systems theory, as a non-pathologizing treatment meant to effect lasting change by addressing the immediate causes of individual dysfunction—the family and surrounding systems. The colorful and dedicated early pioneers in the field and their specific contributions to the field are reviewed. Dr. Mones weaves in his own personal experiences working with these individuals and what he has taken as valuable therapeutic knowledge to form his own integrated practice.

Dr. Mones describes his career-long quest to find the essence of healing—what are the essential elements that makes psychotherapy effective and brings relief to individuals suffering a wide range of disorder from trauma and dysfunctional systems. Readers will benefit from Dr. Mones’ decades-long experience as a supervisor and teacher through his writing and learn how, they too, can find the meaningful parts of therapy that work to inform their own practice to create lasting change in their clients.