Life Skills: Improve the Quality of Your Life with Metapsychology

Life Skills serves as a great introduction to the nebulous field of metapsychology, a variation on the newly popular field of positive psychology. The book attempts to use the tools of psychoanalysis to provide a guide for emotional self-improvement. And it succeeds. With chapters focusing on broad quality of life issues, treatment of traumatic stress (not the diagnosable Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which really should be treated by a professional, but the everyday trauma we all have faced), understanding emotion, improving relationships and enhancing life awareness, this book provides a broad approach to life-improvement without feeling like anything is missing.

Every psychological term is well defined for a lay audience. The layout, with bullets, boxed quotes, and effective use of bolding, is interesting and engaging. Frequent exercises are also engaging; this reviewer couldn’t help but work several as I attempted to read the book cover-to-cover. This book is worth your time and is worth taking time to really explore the exercises.

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