"Daryl Chow, in this engaging book, shows us what we have been doing wrong and more importantly, what we should be doing differently. Throw out the traditional assessment of psychopathology and engage the client with the fervor that is necessary to form an alliance that provides the scaffolding for therapy to work.

This book walks the talk--you will be engaged from the very first moment of picking up the book!"

-- Bruce E. Wampold, Ph.D., Author of the Great Psychotherapy Debate, Director, Research Institute, Modum Bad Psychiatric Center, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin.

"Author Daryl Chow is a leading researcher on using Deliberate Practice to improve clinical effectiveness. In this book, he provides practical guidance on one of the most important and challenging moments in therapy: your first encounter with your clients. Clearly organized in sequential steps, Daryl Chow shows us how to get past the sacred but ineffective "intake session" and instead discover how to truly connect with our clients. The text is research-based as well as grounded in his honest and courageous self-disclosure.

This book is highly recommended for all therapists, from trainees to experienced clinicians who want to improve their effectiveness."

-- Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, Author of Deliberate Practice for Psychotherapists.

"Daryl Chow has finally written The Book I've wanted every therapist to read for years. With an ease and generosity that make the reader feel like they're chatting over coffee with Daryl rather than reading words on a page, Dr. Chow welcomes us into his world as a creative and erudite scholar-practitioner. Once there, we experience what becomes possible when we become relationally responsive to people rather than rigidly robotic with intake procedures. This book should become dog-eared, papered with post-its, and full of multi-colored highlighting."

-- Julie Tilsen, Ph.D., author of Therapeutic Conversations with Queer Youth: Transcending Homonormativity and Constructing Preferred Identities and Narrative Approaches to Youth Work: Conversational Skills for a Critical Practice.

"With elegant simplicity and intelligence, practitioner, trainer and researcher Daryl Chow guides the field of mental health in the right direction. In this much-needed book, The First Kiss confronts the hard facts of what the research evidence tells us about what works in psychotherapy, and gives us a clear and concise description on how to become better practitioners. Follow his lead and you will achieve better results with higher quality in less time."

-- Birgit Villa, Psychologist, Author of "Videre - Hvordan psykiske helsetjenester kan bli bedre" ("Further - How Mental Health Services Can Be Better") and Director of a Mental Health Service, Norway.