Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping the Prison You Didn't Know You Were In

by Jeffrey B. Rubin

Overview

Psychotherapy Case Studies is composed of 11 compelling and emotionally intimate stories that illuminate the hidden psychological forces shaping our lives and the path to genuine freedom. These jargon-free narratives re-envision therapy as a sacred journey in which the therapist accompanies patients through their deepest struggles and creates an accepting home for the full spectrum of their lives.

Through stories spanning the depths of psychological despair and the heights of spiritual illumination, the book weaves Eastern contemplative and Western psychoanalytic wisdom, demonstrating the extraordinary healing that is possible when the therapist is like an emotional jazz improviser who is free and creative and approaches each person as unique. Each case reveals our unsuspected capacity not just to cope, but to thrive amid life’s challenges.

Written for both beginning and seasoned therapists, students of psychology, and anyone curious about the transformative power of authentic human connection, these inspiring stories offer sustenance and hope in challenging times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040379943
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/17/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	122
File size:	785 KB

About the Author

Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD, is a psychoanalytically oriented therapist in New York and a Sensei in the Nyogen Senzaki and Soen Nakagawa Zen tradition. He is the author of six books on the integration of Eastern and Western approaches to flourishing and self-transformation. Rubin has taught at various psychoanalytic institutes and meditation, yoga and growth centers around the country and abroad including the United Nations, Union Theological Seminary, the Esalen Institute, and the 92nd Street Y. His pioneering approach to therapy was featured in the New York Times magazine.

Table of Contents

1. Nothing But Net: How Basketball Led Me to Buddhism and Psychoanalysis 2. Absorb What is Useful … Add What is Specifically Your Own: Bruce Lee and Me 3. One Size Never Fits All: The Birthday Party Nobody Attended 4. The Psychotherapist as Jazz Improviser: A Walk on the Wild Side 5. The Incomparable Power of Human Understanding: Searching for Emotional Sanity Underneath the Madness 6. Meditating on Failure: “I’d Like to Get to Know You Better" 7. Curing the Patient of the Illness Created by Their Self-Cure: Healing the Trauma of Neglect in a Zen Buddhist Master 8. The Reluctant Sensei: Zen and Self-Healing 9. Memorials of Our Unwitnessed Pain: Suicide is a Lonely Affair 10. Our Symptoms Are Our Teachers: The Man Who Gave Birth to His Wife 11. On Being a Zen Psychoanalyst: The Union of Presence, Meaning, and Intimacy 12. The World is Too Much with Us: When Dead Whales, Bigotry, and Vaccinations Join Us in Sessions 13. Escaping the Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In: The Covid Jailbreak

Editorial Reviews

"In this masterfully crafted work, Jeffrey B. Rubin weaves together the wisdom of Eastern contemplative traditions with the depth of psychoanalytic understanding through the timeless power of storytelling. His compelling narratives—spanning from sports fields to Zen temples, from clinical breakthroughs to therapeutic failures—reimagine the therapeutic relationship as a sacred encounter, where the therapist, like Virgil guiding Dante, accompanies patients through their deepest struggles. The author’s emphasis on the art of deep listening and presence illuminates a path toward authentic healing that is both deeply practical and profoundly transformative. Each story serves as a window into human experience, demonstrating how the artful integration of mindful presence and psychological insight can facilitate genuine transformation. An essential read for clinicians seeking to expand their therapeutic repertoire and for anyone interested in the art of human understanding."

Inna Rozentsvit, M.D., PhD, psychoanalytically trained neurologist, neurorehabilitation and neurodiversity specialist, psychohistorian, publisher, and transdisciplinary researcher

"Both clinical, philosophical, spiritual, and autobiographical, Jeffrey Rubin’s Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping the Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In is a compelling read and an extraordinarily insightful and inspiring self-portrait and account of the work of a truly gifted psychotherapist and thinker. With humor and profound empathy for his patients, Rubin shares his hard-won wisdom with us all, interweaving his life and therapeutic experience, literary and his Zen Buddhist relational intersubjective psychoanalytic perspective, into a wonderful narrative. I highly recommend it for therapists young and old, patients, truth-seekers and anyone who would like a searching, eloquent, and honest look into how psychotherapy really works."

Kenneth Rasmussen, PsyD, PhD, International Psychohistorical Association, psychotherapist in private practice

"Through the lens of psychotherapy, Dr. Rubin’s book deeply delves into a diverse array of stories, ranging from sports to spirituality, revealing the profound human capacity for resilience and meaning making amidst trauma. Each account offers a powerful reminder that, while we may feel overwhelmed, it is possible, even necessary, to confront our fears with clarity and dignity. The emphasis on compassion and understanding in therapy is particularly striking; he advocates for a tender, individualized approach that honors each person's emotional journey, rather than resorting to generic solutions.

The personal experiences shared by the author deepen the impact of the text. The losses endured, including the passing of close family members and friends, serve as a backdrop to the exploration of transformation. This period of grief and introspection not only shaped the author’s clinical work but also underscored the importance of connection and hope in a fractured world. This book offers readers both inspiration and guidance. By telling these stories, Dr. Rubin is taking care of the hearts that seek connection."

Joanne Cacciatore, PhD, Professor at Arizona State University; author of Bearing the Unbearable: Love, loss, and the heartbreaking path of grief

"Jeffrey Rubin's new book, Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping The Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In, is a courageous undertaking, providing a portrait not only of patient dynamics but of Rubin‘s own defining struggles with himself as he navigates his way through his work with the people he sees in treatment. His approach is a tacit acknowledgment that no meaningful evaluation of psychoanalytic work can unfold without consideration of the intricacies of the therapist‘s own personality. It is written in a wonderfully clear, lucid, down-to-earth prose that renders consideration of complex case material an easy, enjoyable read. His conception of his therapeutic work is deeply persuasive and insightful. The people whose lives he has chosen to discuss are drawn in vivid, poignant terms. He integrates traditional psychoanalytic concepts with core concepts that define Eastern philosophical approaches, both of which inform his relationship with himself and his orientation to psychotherapy and analysis. As this integration implies, his approach, in a sense, is a non-traditional one: psychotherapy is viewed as an organic endeavor in which concerns about humanity and engagement supersede focus upon prescriptive rules."

Richard Wood, PhD, Clinical psychology in 1974 (Wayne State University), Founder and Director of the Thornhill Multidisciplinary Assessment Center, Founding member of the Canadian Association of Psychologists in Disability Assessment, and Former President of the Ontario Psychological Association in 1989. He has written three books.

From the Publisher