Book excerpt: Ilene V. Fishman believes in the power of good and efficient psychotherapy. After suffering with a severe eating disorder from her early teens until her twenties (at a time when next to nothing was known about how to treat it), Ilene figured out how to get herself well. She has spent her long career helping others with and without eating disorders, to get better, faster. Part memoir, part how-to, The Deeper Fix: For Your Growth & Empowerment offers the reader a compelling story of resilience and a guide to making the most of the therapy experience. From her complicated childhood parental relationships, to her own self-admitted mistakes in a low self-esteem marriage, to the grief of losing a son in utero, to raising his identical twin with severe disabilities while parenting her other healthy son as a single mother, Ilene lays her story bare as a cautionary tale. Citing personal agency as a necessity in any treatment dyad between therapist and patient, Ilene is blunt, frank and unapologetically ruthless about not letting the pain that finds you, define you. Choosing not to use the personal stories of her patients, as many therapists who have written self-help books have done before her, was a conscious, deliberate decision. Ilene feels being honest about her own story and resulting theory of practice is the best way to present a successful roadmap to self-acceptance and good mental health. A small but powerful book, Ilene envisions it as a workbook and hopes that her readers mark it, refer to it and write notes in it while using its message to empower their growth to a fuller and richer life. Not just for those suffering with an eating disorder, Ilene's psychotherapy theory is helpful to anyone who is trying to improve their life. A passionate calling for Ilene over many years, The Deeper Fix offers tools and advice to anyone in or out of therapy in a plain-speaking and practical format. She is a realistic cheerleader for the power of good therapy, adamant in her belief in it and also full of compassion and understanding for the struggle, because it has been her own. The Deeper Fix is your primer for developing healthy self-esteem and achieving personal growth and full recovery. Ilene has helped hundreds of patients in her practice and this book is her attempt to offer the same to as many people as possible beyond the four walls of her office. Complex yet accessible, The Deeper Fix is a jam-packed adventure into self-discovery. Don't miss it!