Rabinowitz, Ilana

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Rabinowitz, Ilana

PERSONAL: Female.

ADDRESSES: Home—Riverdale, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Hyperion, 114 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10011.

CAREER: Journalist, writer, and editor. Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, reporter.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Inside Therapy: Illuminating Writings about Therapists, Patients, and Psychotherapy, foreword by Irvin D. Yalom, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY) 1998.

(Editor) Mountains Are Mountains and Rivers Are Rivers: Applying Eastern Teachings to Everyday Life, foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

SIDELIGHTS: Ilana Rabinowitz is a psychiatry reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the editor of two books. Inside Therapy: Illuminating Writings about Therapists, Patients, and Psychotherapy is a collection of book excerpts, case histories, essays, and fiction. The earliest works included in the volume date from the late 1940s, but most were written in the 1980s and 1990s. Among the subjects discussed are the role of transference, the possibility of a therapist leading rather than listening, patients' accounts of therapy sessions, associations with Buddhist philosophy, and the thoughts and emotions of therapists. Selections include an excerpt from Theodore Reik's Listening with the Third Ear and a portion of Robert Lindner's The Fifty-Minute Hour.

Several aspects of Rabinowitz's book won praise from critics. A Publishers Weekly reviewer recommended Inside Therapy to readers who have been in therapy or are considering it. Library Jounal critic Antoinette Brinkman wrote that the work includes "fascinating tidbits" described by the critic as "hopeful, informative, [and] lively." Penny Spokes observed in a Booklist review that Inside Therapy "both satisfies our curiosity and helps us understand" how therapy promotes healing.

As editor of Mountains Are Mountains and Rivers Are Rivers: Applying Eastern Teachings to Everyday Life Rabinowitz assembles a selection of writings that explain how concepts such as harmony and openness, as well as the practice of meditation, can be used to improve daily life. Spiritual and creative development are addressed as well as methods of coping with anger and stress. The book includes writings by Sylvia Boorstein, Daniel Goleman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Robert Pirsig, Ken Wilber, and Venerable Henepola Gunaratana. According to Library Journal reviewer Graham Christian, the book serves as a "an excellent starter text" on the subject, while a Publishers Weekly critic described Mountains Are Mountains and Rivers Are Rivers as "inspiring" and marked by "accessible prose."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1998, Penny Spokes, review of Inside Therapy: Illuminating Writings about Therapists, Patients, and Psychotherapy, p. 1945.

Library Journal, September 15, 1998, Antoinette Brinkman, review of Inside Therapy, p. 100; July, 1999, Graham Christian, review of Mountains Are Mountains and Rivers Are Rivers: Applying Eastern Teachings to Everyday Life, p. 99.

Publishers Weekly, June 22, 1998, review of Inside Therapy, p. 75; May 31, 1999, review of Mountains Are Mountains and Rivers Are Rivers, p. 22.