One of the most venerable books on therapy is also one of the more accessible and insightful for patients and therapists. Sheldon Kopp’s 1972 If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients
is well worth reading. Includes the excellent “An Eschatological Laundry List" which starts with “1. This is it.” and ends with “43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again....”
If you’re like me, you can never embark on a venture without learning as much as possible. For the same reason people buy books on travel before they go on vacation, you can read books on therapy by great therapists. (Of course the danger is that my patients might start comparing me with these great therapists, but I like to think I have the ego strength to be myself in the face of the comparison). Among the best is Yalom, whose 
The Gift of Therapy is a gift to patients as well.
