Reviewed by Michael McManus, MSW, LCSW
As a licensed therapist with over four decades in psychotherapy, Catherine Gildiner’s “Good Morning, Monster” feels like a professional homecoming. This collection of five extended case studies—framed as “heroic stories of emotional recovery”—captures the gritty beauty of long-term therapy in ways few books do. Gildiner, a seasoned clinician herself, turns clinical encounters into compelling narratives that resonate deeply with therapists craving transparent, relational accounts.
Each chapter traces a client’s multi-year arc, from devastating intake to transformative follow-up.
- One grapples with a tyrannical mother’s verbal venom (“Good morning, monster!”), internalized as self-loathing.
- Another navigates cult deprogramming after decades of indoctrination.
- Stories span physical paralysis from psychosomatic roots, Munchausen-by-proxy survival, and more.
These aren’t tidy vignettes; they’re messy, real journeys mirroring the nonlinear paths we see daily.
Themes That Hit Home
Gildiner spotlights core psychotherapy truths:
- Attachment wounds: Childhood neglect and abuse echo in adult bodies and bonds.
- Intergenerational cycles: Trauma’s ripple effects demand generational reckoning.
- Therapist humanity: She owns countertransference stumbles and strategic pivots, demystifying our role.
For me, this validates the slow repetition of relational repair—rewiring neural pathways through lived safety.
What elevates this for fellow clinicians is Gildiner’s candor on process. She dissects intake decisions, technique shifts (from psychodynamic probing to somatic attunement), and ethical anonymization. No jargon barriers obscure the work; instead, scenes reveal how theory lives in the room. Her admission of blind spots—moments when her own filters clouded empathy—spurs reflection on our use-of-self. It’s a masterclass in endurance: therapy as marathon, not sprint, yielding hope amid entrenched pain.
Gildiner’s prose sings—cinematic dialogue, wry humor amid horror, literary flair without artifice. Harrowing details (a client’s ritualistic self-harm; another’s hallucinatory gurus) balance with triumphs, like reclaimed autonomy. At 350 pages, it’s brisk yet profound, accessible for trainees or veterans.
Extreme cases dominate, potentially sidelining “everyday” therapy’s quiet wins. Subtle Canadian context adds flavor but limits universal transfer. Still, strengths overwhelm: ethical storytelling empowers clients’ legacies without exploitation.
If you’ve ever ached for realistic portrayals of depth work—beyond pop-psych soundbites—this delivers.
Michael McManus LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Michael and his wife Angela, who is also a therapist, have raised four children. They enjoy exploring, cooking, reading, yoga, hiking, biking trying out the restaurants around town and traveling to visit their kids scattered around the country. Michael can be reached by phone or text at (850) 837-0123 or website:psychotherapy30A.com
