Ofer Zur, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and forensic consultant practicing in Sebastopol, California. He is the director of the Zur Institute, which offers over 100 online courses and is one of the most extensive online CE programs for psychologists, counselors, LPC, social workers, MFTs and nurses. His teaching, consulting with therapists, and writing focus on private practice outside managed care, ethics, standard of care, boundaries, dual relationships, and Internet addiction. His books include Dual Relationships and Psychotherapy (Springer, 2002, co-edited with A. Lazarus), HIPPA Friendly (Norton, 2005), Private Practice Handbook, (ZI, 2007), and Boundaries in Psychotherapy (APA Books, 2007). Dr. Zur has deep concern regarding the harm inflicted by dogmatic, inflexible and ideologically rigid psychotherapeutic practices. His articles page at ZurInstitute.com provides dozens of free articles and guidelines for psychotherapists and the public.
Check out the following Psychology CE Courses based on listening to Shrink Rap Radio interviews:
Jungian Psychotherapy Part 1 (6 CEUs)
Jungian Psychotherapy Part 2 (7 CEUs)
Jungian Psychotherapy Part 3 (7 CEUs)
Jungian Psychotherapy discounted Package of the Three Above (20 CEUs)
Wisdom of The Dream (4 CEUs)
Positive Psychology (6 CEUs)
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I must say I didn’t agree with Dr Zur’s enthusiastic proclamation of this kind of therapy as the wave of the future. If 70% of communication is non-verbal, then how can one realistically say that analysis/depth therapy by means other than face-to-face is OK? I can understand keeping in touch with one’s therapist by phone/skype when travelling, but any more than that just seems optimistic at best. The therapist can unconsciously pick up on all those micro-gestures both facial and body language that he/she wouldn’t be able to if not meeting face-to-face.
But of course, the therapist needs to have some kind of cultural affinity with that of the patient to read all these cues, however. That’s probably why the American psychoanalysts were OK with training Chinese therapists via Skype… it’d be ‘excusable’ since even if they were in the same room the average American would not be able to read any of the Chinese man/womans non-verbal communication anyway, because of the cultural difference.
I have to say I don’t share the guest’s unbridled enthusiasm for this second-rate form of therapy, although I do accept that for some more superficial forms of therapy, it could be workable.