What is psychotherapy and what happens in a therapy session? Books, movies, and television often provide a biased or romantic view. OPENING A CLOSED DOOR: A PSYCHOTHERAPIST REMEMBERS HIS PATIENTS consists of sixty-eight vignettes drawn from the author's true-life experiences as a clinical psychologist. He has worked at VA hospitals and outpatient clinics, as faculty at a medical school, and in private practice. In all these venues, he cared about his patients, and remembers and honors them to this day. Some stories may have you laughing and others might bring tears to your eyes but you will remember each of the people you meet in these pages. The short case histories are grouped in several classifications, such as "The Young," "Fun," "Scary," and "Sexy." The author even shares some of his own therapy experience. Dr. Boeringa, like his patients, will become a real person to you. An appendix contains his thoughts about therapy in general. The book may bring to mind the stories written by Oliver Sacks yet it is unique in that it narrates psychological cases. Fascinating to a wide variety of curious readers, it can also be an engaging mystery, and provides both a good read and interesting information. Here is what really happens behind the scenes in therapy. This book will acquaint you with people who have faced universal human issues. Perhaps some of the problems presented are similar to those you or someone you know has encountered. With sensitivity and caring on the part of both patient and doctor, many of these problems are resolved, but not all. This is a book to re-read, give, share and discuss. It will offer thought-provoking material for any book club. After reading the book, the reader's one remaining question might be: "When does the next book come out?"
About the Author: Full name and degrees: J. Alexander Boeringa, PhD, ABPP Dr. Boeringa was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1940. He served two years in the US Army and afterwards attended both Trinity and Hope Colleges, graduating in 1965. He was then admitted to the University of Texas Graduate School of Psychology in Austin, Texas. After one year of studies, he worked at various occupations, including research assistant in the UT-Austin Psychology Department, sociometric researcher at Tracor Corporation, and teacher for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). In 1974 he returned to graduate school and after completing academic studies, fulfilled his clinical internship at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), and in 1979 was awarded a PhD in clinical psychology. At that time he joined the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston as a fulltime faculty member. In 1982 Dr. Boeringa accepted a position as clinical psychologist at the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Peoria, Illinois. He next served as Chief of Psychology at the Boise, Idaho VAMC from 1986 until 1990, then was promoted to Chief of Psychology at the Houston VAMC where he worked until his retirement in 2001. Soon he joined the University of Maryland's Overseas Faculty in Europe and taught at several military bases in five different countries until 2011. He also served as interim director of the UMUC Masters program in counseling psychology and twice taught summer English classes in China. Advanced certifications include a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychologists and Fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology. Professional activities included serving as site visitor for the American Psychology Association's internship accreditation program. He has authored or contributed to several peer-reviewed publications. At present, he lives in Nampa, Idaho and enjoys writing, hiking, gardening and visiting his sons Michael and his wife Sandra, and Matthew and his wife Mary and their son.