Peter Kramer
What Else We Know: The Role of Judgment in the Conduct of Psychotherapy
Because therapists have often exercised judgment poorly, practitioners have tried to develop therapies that rely exclusively on capacities like empathy. But therapists’ judgment, their awareness of social norms and likelihoods, often finds its way back into the treatment. Drawing in part on my own clinical experience, I will try to rethink the proper role of substantive judgment in psychotherapy. Can we use what we know?
Peter Kramer received his MD from Harvard University. A Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, he has a private practice in Providence, Rhode Island. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other national publications. He has written several highly acclaimed books, including Listening to Prozac (1993), Moments of Engagement: Intimate Psychotherapy in a Technological Age (1994), Should You Leave? (1997), and Spectacular Happiness (2001).