Easy Ego State Interventions

Strategies for Working with Parts

By: Robin Shapiro

Narrated by: Nan McNamara

Most of us have different aspects, "parts", or "ego states" of ourselves - the silly and imaginative five-year-old part, for example, or the depressed, anxious, or angry adolescent - which manifest as particular moods, behaviors, and reactions depending on the demands of our external and internal environments. "Ego state therapy" refers to a powerful, flexible therapy that helps clients integrate and reconcile these distinct aspects of themselves.

This audiobook offers a grab bag of ego state interventions - simple, practical techniques for a range of client issues - that any therapist can incorporate in his or her practice. In her characteristic wise, compassionate, and user-friendly writing style, Robin Shapiro explains what ego states are, how to access them in clients, and how to use them for a variety of treatment issues. After covering foundational interventions for accessing positive adult states, creating internal caregivers, and working with infant and child states in Part I: Getting Started with Ego State Work, Shapiro walks listeners step-by-step through a variety of specific interventions for specific problems, each ready for immediate application with clients. Part II: Problem-Specific Interventions includes chapters devoted to working with trauma, relationship challenges, personality disorders, suicidal ideation, and more.

©2016 Robin Shapiro (P)2019 Tantor

Excellent for Learning Ego States

Excellent way to learn Ego State. Very explicit in some case studies. Practice self- care.

To Learn& even SOME TRAUMA Clients-SEE note BELOW!

These topics are things no one wants to talk about yet that never helps anyone heal! This book is great at explaining things in a very tangible with 'real & direct words' while using simple terms so we can both understand & yet still learn. I appreciated it was filled with a magnitude of helpful information yet in only about 5 hours versus 12! I learned much!

I highly recommend this book to in my opinion, both professionals, students learning the field (NOT ALL- SEE NOTE BELOW), as well as SOME CLIENTS that suffer from these traumas. I SAY THIS WITH CAUTION because the individual MUST BE AT A REASONABLY HEALTHIER STATE or point in their healing journey so they can add to methods in helping themselves more and/or get a picture as to how some of these therapies can go. ALWAYS DISCUSS WITH YOUR COUNSELOR 1ST & NO EARLY ON OR PRE-THERAPY CLIENTS! It would without question overload them!

I state these thoughts because I am also a "client" given several diagnosis. I have endured much abuse and repeated trauma. Just a few are BPD, COMPLEX PTSD, DID and more. I desire to understand as much as I can regarding options of appropriate therapies that would be right for me.

I am in the middle of psychotherapy, counseling, support groups, EMDR therapy, etc. I'm an adult mother of 6 & college Junior, working so I can be proactive in this field. In addition to my own personal drive, curiosity, desire to relate & help others in similar circumstances. It is powerful to speak with someone that has ACTUALLY LIVED IT & REALLY KNOWS! This book helped me to continue my plan to BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE!

Glad I purchased this

I wondered if I would like listening to therapy books but after completing this one, I am grateful I chose it. In fact, I will be listening to it again. It felt like I was observing therapy sessions and the techniques came alive as I was listening rather than just reading. Great book and I definitely recommend.

Descriptive, profound & super-helpful!

I appreciate this framework to apply in the healing journey with my clients! Thank you

Life changing! A mist read!

So interesting, I learned so much about ego states therapy and other kinds of therapy to treat trauma. I am amazed an so happy to have read/listened to this audiobook. I feel wiser and more at peace. I will definitely try all this techniques.
Thank you!

Excellent resource for therapists

Outstanding introduction to an important mode of therapy. The examples are numerous, relevant and helpful to illustrate the concepts introduced. It may take some time even for experienced therapist to fully become adept at using this very dynamic form of intervention, but I am confident this will become a go-to resource for use with my clients to address a wide variety of issues. I admit some bias as I have worked with Robin Shapiro as an EMDR consultant. Her approach to therapy is compassionate, insightful research-based an effective. I highly recommend this book to any therapist new or experienced.

Absolutely recommended

I listened to this as a client (I'm not a therapist), and would absolutely recommend it to others who want to do ego state/inner child work on themselves. I had a breakthrough moment when doing one of the described exercises, which I'm very grateful for. Also, the narration is beautifully done.

Not what I was thinking of

I think ego state therapy focuses on staying in the adult all the time which is basically a computer who analyzes problems and is incapable of having fun. Eric Berne who described ego states expanding on Freud’s work says each ego state has value and you are neglecting the importance of other ego states if you stay in one all the time. This is different from the schizophrenic who is constantly switching ego states. The adult’s job is to process information and select the appropriate ego state to respond from. If you listen to this you will get a watered down version of the importance of the different ego states and think the others don’t have value. This is a misconception of Transactional Analysis. I do like her describing the Child ego state where our emotions or feelings live. She advises us to protect it, which I also agree with but from listening to her it sounds like her answer is just to be Adult all the time. Rather than filtering information before responding as a Parent (either Nurturing or Critical) Adult or Child. It is no fun to be Adult all the time.