Review: Intensive Therapy

 

Synopsis:

Intensive Therapy provides an intimate picture of a multifaceted relationship, written in a similar vein to modern classics such as The Prince of Tides and Ordinary People. Cerebral but grounded in the real world, Intensive Therapy will appeal to readers who enjoy close character study and the pleasure of a heady, cultured read.

Intensive Therapy follows the relationship of Dr. Jonas Speller and Victoria Schine-Bloch, an analyst and his patient, over twenty years in their interconnected lives. The story moves back and forth in time, alternating between the early 1980s. Then back to when both are becoming adults and professionals, and the last months of 2004, as each struggles to address ongoing family crises.

As a young woman, Victoria’s toxic relationship with her parents threatened her college education and her life, and Jonas helped her find the independence and strength to start anew. In return, her candor and insight helped the budding doctor see the flaws in his training and develop a new, better path. As mature adults with successful careers, Victoria reappears to ask for Jonas’s help with her troubled teenage daughter. When tragedy nearly takes the lives of both her children, Jonas must act quickly to save the woman who made him the man he has become.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Intensive Therapy by Jeffrey Deitz is stunning. It has opened up my eyes to a whole new topic such as psychotherapy. This was an area completely foreign to me and was interesting to read about in a fictional sense. The relationship between the doctor and client blurred over the normal lines of professionalism. Something deeper and crazier happened between the doctor and client. Here, inside this novel, readers will get a taste of what happens when two people allow themselves to get more involved than normal. A doctor leans more away from his current practice and more towards a new direction. However, that doesn’t occur until his most recent client, Victoria comes to him. She brings about changes in life that affect his work and changes him as an individual. Victoria has several issues and worries. But that’s what Jonas is for…to help her solve those issues and make her life a lot easier to handle. I have found this tale beautifully written with humor. The characters’ journeys have started out rough but soon have smoothed out in the end. The dynamics of life keep not only the characters puzzled but the readers as well. Interesting, suspenseful, and addictive to read. Intensive Therapy by Jeffrey Deitz is indeed a must read for all. I highly recommend it.