Another thought....

So what did you see first, the movie or the book?

I have often seen movies based on a book I read and usually think the book was better. I believe this is because I like my visual images better than the producer/director's and they rarely match. Sometimes I like a book so much I won't even see the movie because I don't want to spoil it. In this instance the book is much more of a real experience than the movie. Of course there are those times when you enjoy the movie, and say, "that's exactly like I pictured it." But those instances are rare.

I think therapy & books work the opposite way. Although we read the book, the experience of therapy is real and therefore more desirable. It is a personal experience. The book can give us a framework but the therapeutic experience is so individual that unless you write your own book you are not reading what is going on in THAT room at THAT time.