A groundbreaking book about personal growth that presents a uniquely effective set of five tools that bring about dynamic change—as seen on The Dr. Oz Show

The Tools offers a solution to the biggest complaint patients have about therapy: the interminable wait for change to begin. The traditional therapeutic model sets its sights on the past, but Phil Stutz and Barry Michels employ an arsenal of techniques—“the tools”—that allow patients to use their problems as levers that access the power of the unconscious and propel them into action. Suddenly, through this transformative approach, obstacles become opportunities—to find courage, embrace discipline, develop self-expression, deepen creativity.

For years, Stutz and Michels taught these techniques to an exclusive patient base, but with The Tools, their revolutionary, empowering practice becomes available to every reader interested in realizing the full range of their potential. The authors’ goal is nothing less than for your life to become exceptional—exceptional in its resiliency, in its experience of real happiness, and in its understanding of the human spirit.

“An ‘open secret’ in Hollywood . . . [Stutz and Michels] have developed a program designed to access the creative power of the unconscious.”—The New Yorker

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With deceptively potent visualization exercises, psychiatrist Stutz and psychotherapist Michels promote a rapid and streamlined method of self-improvement. Michels, known for his work with prominent entertainment industry clients, teaches readers to end procrastination and negativity by tapping into higher forces. Stutz, who originally developed the Tools, backtracks to explain how and why they originated. Though simple, the authors' techniques are designed to access intense intrapersonal areas. The "Inner Authority" tool, for example, involves imagining the Jungian Shadow to reach greater self-expression. Though many of the tools are explained by addressing a creative problem, readers in any field are likely to feel empowered because of their ease of use. Easy but not shallow, the work of Michels and Stutz also has a transcendent component. The authors foresee a time when "psychotherapy... will become a spiritual endeavor"; exercises are said to work thanks to the generosity of the universe. The clear, user-friendly approach plus a belief that "the power of higher forces is absolutely real" is a winning combination. Here is the rare self-help book that doesn't end with the self. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
AUTHOR NOTES
Phil Stutz graduated from City College in New York and received his MD from New York University. He worked as a prison psychiatrist on Rikers Island and then in private practice in New York before moving his practice to Los Angeles in 1982.

Barry Michels has a BA from Harvard, a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, and an MSW from the University of Southern California. He has been in private practice as a psychotherapist in Los Angeles since 1986.