What makes this book a joy to read is that it offers a wise and witty meld of the author’s personal insights and clinical observations plus bite-sized nuggets of psychology without ever lecturing or boring the reader ... For those who are skeptical, fearful or turned off by the idea of the talking cure, this fly-on-the-wall view of the subject just might convince you that therapy is remarkably worthwhile ... For self-help aficionados, there is wisdom galore on topics such as the drivers and inhibitors of psychological transformation, managing loss and grief, discovering meaning in life and work ... And for therapists, there is the chance to sit back and take note of how another clinician applies her skills to conjure up the magic of effective therapy ... A talented and highly accomplished writer, Gottlieb’s insecurities and chronic internal conflicts may surprise some readers. The fact that she doesn’t hold back talking about her suffering is what makes this book so powerful ... a most satisfying and illuminating read for psychotherapy patients, their therapists, and all the rest of us.

... an irresistibly candid and addicting memoir ... [Gottlieb's] book does feel deeply, almost creepily, voyeuristic ... In showing us how patients reveal just a part of their selves, [Gottlieb] gives us a dizzily satisfying collage of narratives, a kind of ensemble soap opera set in the already soap operatic world of Los Angeles ... Gottlieb can be judgmental and obsessive, but she’s authentic, even raw, about herself and her patients.

...she combines journalism and therapy, most notably in her 'Dear Therapist' advice column for the Atlantic, which itself somewhat makes the argument for therapy based on the fact that the questions are often far too complicated ever to be answered in the span of one response, though Gottlieb does her best ... There’s something satisfyingly voyeuristic and intimate about getting to listen in on anyone else’s therapy, a feeling Gottlieb amplifies by contextualizing what is actually happening in each session from a more clinical perspective. She does this by gently and constantly explaining to the reader what exactly therapists are trying to do with their patients, sharing language and frameworks ... It’s strange to see Gottlieb, a therapist herself, seemingly imply that someone can be too 'together' to benefit from talking to someone. And yet, I’m glad she grapples with this. Watching her come to the realization that the process has things to offer her beyond a quick solution is a lesson in and of itself.

... a dishy romp, an eavesdropper’s guilty pleasure that — perhaps not surprisingly — is already being developed as a television series with Eva Longoria and ABC ... Gottlieb can be provocative and entertaining, but her prose often descends into psychobabble; she is prone to use jargon; she overuses the f-word, along with additional expletives, as interjections and as adjectives, verbs and other parts of speech; and she quotes from a few too many psychiatrists and psychologists. Doses of Freud, Jung, Fromm and Erikson are to be expected, but James Prochaska’s transtheoretical model of behavior change and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s 'flow' state seem superfluous for the lay reader, for whom this book is obviously intended. And yet: The excerpts from the therapy sessions keep us reading ... By tearing down boundaries, Gottlieb gives us more than a voyeuristic look at other people’s problems (including her own). She shows us, with high praise to Wendell, the value of therapy.

Gottlieb plunges further into the psychological depths as she discloses how therapists keep each other honest ... Some readers will know Gottlieb from her many TV appearances or her 'Dear Therapist' column, but even for the uninitiated-to-Gottlieb, it won’t take long to settle in with this compelling read.

As Gottlieb’s patients proceed (often painfully) through their sessions, so does Gottlieb with her new therapist, Wendell. And we get to listen in through this unusual combination of memoir, self-help guide and therapy primer ... warm, approachable and funny—a pleasure to read ... As we watch Gottlieb and her patients learn to tell the rest of their own stories and move beyond their pain, we find some surprising insights and even a bit of wisdom.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others ... Maybe You Should Talk To Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.

A vivacious portrait of a therapist from both sides of the couch ... With great empathy and compassion, psychotherapist and Atlantic columnist and contributing editor Gottlieb...chronicles the many problems facing the 'struggling humans' in her stable of therapy patients ... In addition to its smooth, conversational tone and frank honesty, the book is also entertainingly voyeuristic, as readers get to eavesdrop on Gottlieb’s therapy sessions with intriguing patients in all states of distress ... Throughout, the author puts a very human face on the delicate yet intensive process of psychotherapy while baring her own demons ... an irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition.