Review of Relational theory and the practice of psychotherapy.

Reviews the books, Relational theory and the practice of psychotherapy by Paul L. Wachtel (2009). Paul Wachtel has done it again. After writing for many years about integrating psychoanalytic, behavioral and family approaches to psychotherapy in addition to cultural issues, Wachtel has returned to his psychoanalytic origins to explicate his ideas about cyclical psychodynamics from the perspective of contemporary relational psychoanalysis. This book is an excellent way for psychotherapists unfamiliar with how psychoanalysis has changed since Freud to familiarize themselves with recent developments from a writer who does not get lost in the jargon that distances many who find psychoanalytic language lacking in clarity. Psychoanalysts will find some critiques of traditional views and expansions of ways of looking at the clinical situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Attachment in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Attachment in psychotherapy by David J. Wallin (see record 2007-05421-000). This intellectual and clinical tour-de-force is what we have been waiting for: a book that is on the one hand a coherent, creative, thoughtful, and remarkably integrated view of contemporary psychoanalysis, with attachment, and attachment processes, at its core, and on the other a reflection on our daily, complex, work with patients. The book has three broad aims: first, to ground the reader in attachment theory and research, second, to broaden the reach of attachment theory by building bridges to other aspects of contemporary psychoanalytic theory and science, and third to apply this broader, deeply psychoanalytic, clinical attachment theory to understanding the dynamics of an individual patient and the dynamics of clinical work. This book should be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary psychoanalysis. Few writers have the ability to write so directly and clearly about complex science and theory; his scholarship and reach are extraordinary. This book is also a book for therapists at all levels of experience. Throughout every section of the book, Wallin writes about his work with patients, about the therapeutic process, about the therapeutic situation, and about the therapeutic relationship, in all its complexity. In the end, he creates a truly contemporary vision of human development, affect regulation, and relational processes, grounded in the body and in the brain, and in the fundamental relationships that make us who we are, as therapists, as patients, and as human beings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The anatomy of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, The anatomy of psychotherapy by Lawrence Friedman (see record 1988-97848-000). The authors' aim is to clarify the various theories of psychoanalysis from Freud to the current and to examine in depth the personal features of the analyst in the context of his/her work. With a knowledge of the entire range of psychoanalytic literature rare with most theorists or practitioners, the author reviews the philosophical developments of Freudian theory. He includes in this review some of the frictions, disputes and subtle disagreements within the classical analytic tradition. He then proceeds to describe the most significant of the contemporary deviations from classical theory (e.g., object relations, interpersonal theory, self psychology, action language) and compares and contrasts them with each other. Friedman has long been a commentator on contemporary psychoanalytic developments and he has adapted his many articles into this work. The book itself is organized into six sections, focusing on the personal and theoretical. It is well written but quite dense. Much concentration is needed. I believe that one must have an interest in psychoanalytic theory as well as a rather sophisticated appreciation of it to truly enjoy this book. It is long and detailed and I imagine difficult to get through without an intrinsic interest in the "anatomy" of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Interpretation and interaction: Psychoanalysis or psychotherapy?

Reviews the book, Interpretation and interaction: Psychoanalysis or psychotherapy? by Jerome D. Oremland (see record 1991-98021-000). This theoretically provocative and clinically substantive monograph cogently addresses the important and complex issues concerning the relationship between psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. The essentials of each are examined in terms of the relative contribution of the two variables entering into all therapeutic endeavors--interpretation and interaction. The author's thesis stems from his viewing Merton Gill's seminal work distinguishing psychoanalysis and psychotherapy as too inclusive. There are minor editorial mistakes involving spelling errors, typos, and omissions (e.g., Chapter 6 is not listed in the contents). Some readers may be put off by the author's tendency to make unequivocal and authoritative pronouncements as well as the psychoanalytically institutional context for many of the observations. Minor limitations notwithstanding, this is an important and easily read, integrative work that advances psychoanalytic psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Transformative relationships: The control-mastery theory of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Transformative relationships: The control-mastery theory of psychotherapy by George Silberschatz (see record 2005-00928-000). This book is an edited text that thoroughly reviews theory, research, and practice on control-mastery theory, a psychodynamic method developed at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute. Overall, this is an impressive research program summarized in this chapter in a very accessible manner. The research program is a good case study of an effort to build an evidence-based treatment close to clinical reality. In addition, the book as a whole is probably the best way to get a summary of all aspects of control-mastery theory as well as a clear and interesting exposition of different aspects of the theory, research, and practice. One important clinical implication of the testing concepts is that the meaning of a therapist's interventions will vary depending on what specific pathogenic beliefs the client is testing. Control-mastery theory is highly case specific; a technique that is helpful to one client may not be appropriate or helpful to another. How effective the therapy is will be determined not by the technique used but by the extent to which the therapist can disconfirm the client's pathogenic beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The process of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book "The process of psychotherapy," by H. V. Ingham and L. R. Love (see record 1954-07599-000). In the preface the authors state "This book is an attempt to describe the ways in which a psychotherapist works. . . . Anyone engaged in psychotherapy is concerned with both an understanding of people and an appreciation of the ways of dealing with them. Certainly much more consideration has generally been given to a presentation of dynamic theory or to using the advantages of combining both fields than to efforts at describing how psychotherapy is conducted." The authors have been singularly successful in avoiding raising and discussing problems either of "dynamic theory" or the relation of theory to psychotherapeutic practice. It is difficult to evaluate this book because we are not told for whom it is intended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy by Williams Hudson O'Hanlon and Michelle Weiner-Davis (see record 1989-98511-000). This book is a presentation of solution-oriented therapy, which derives from the work of Milton Erickson. The book also draws upon research from the Mental Research Institute's work in brief therapy, and from the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, where the second author was part of the research team. The book, however, is not a presentation of research; there are no discussions of statistics or research design. What the book does discuss is implementing solution-oriented therapy, an approach which focuses on the strengths of clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of College psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, College psychotherapy edited by Paul A. Grayson and Kate Cauley (see record 1989-97599-000). According to the reviewer, this was an enjoyable and informative book, easily read with helpful suggestions for working with the college population. It is devoid of the pretentious theorizing or condescending didacticism found in many "how-to" books in psychology. Doctors Grayson and Cauley are primarily interested in addressing the needs of those who practice counseling or psychotherapy with college students. Their treatment approach is described as "discriminating eclecticism." They point out that the college population is too heterogeneous to fit a standard treatment orientation. IThis book is highly recommended to all who work with college population, not just those who are in university settings. This is also an excellent sourcebook for graduate students who want to fortify their therapeutic skills and those who supervise these students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of experiential psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of experiential psychotherapy edited by Leslie S. Greenberg, Jeanne C. Watson, and Germain Lietaer (1998). The editors note in their introductory comment that the "influence of the humanistic approaches to psychotherapy has waned since their prominence in the sixties and seventies" (p. ix). What this book makes eminently clear, however, is that experientially oriented therapies have not disappeared in the shadow of more recent developments in theory and practice. This book is well written, well organized, and rich in content. Furthermore, it fills an important gap in the literature. In a climate dominated by the search for "scientifically validated treatments," for-profit mental service providers, and praxis dominated by issues of efficacy, concern for the fundamental underlying process responsible for positive human change tends to be relegated to the background. This volume not only highlights the contributions experiential/third-force psychotherapy has made and continues to make to our appreciation of these fundamental processes, but also manages to combine and balance interesting theoretical discussion with clinically useful practical material. While this volume is no "cookbook of experiential therapy," the authors respect the practical demands facing practitioners and provide useful examples of applying some of the basic tenets of the "third force" to a range of specific issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women and group psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Women and group psychotherapy by Betsy DeChant (see record 1996-98407-000). In the introduction to this book, Editor Betsy DeChant describes the "myth of the cave." This myth is based on the concept that from the beginning of time, men and women have had radically different modes of expression and communication. Women invented spoken language and men, written language. But because women's language was not seen as equal to men's, women have had to learn the male's format for telling their story and gaining respect. The author uses 523 pages of "men's language" to describe a process that, if we trust this myth, is inherently female, but was usurped for generations by the male-constructed creation of psychotherapy. The book has 18 chapters together with commentaries. It is divided into three sections: Section I, Philosophical Perspective on the Feminist Approach, Section II, Theoretical Perspectives on the Treatment of Women in Groups; and Section III covers Guidelines for the Therapist: Leadership and Training Issues. To read this book from start to finish, one must have patience and a serious academic bent. The busy clinician will not find a "quick fix" and must be prepared to read selectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The technique of psychotherapy.

Review the book "The technique of psychotherapy," by Lewis R. Wolberg (see record 1954-08774-000). This is not the case with The Technique of Psychotherapy. It provides one of the most remarkably comprehensive discussions of specifically what to do in psychotherapy that is currently available. The range and specificity of the topics covered is truly astounding. The topics covered deal with almost every conceivable question that the beginning therapist might ask an expert. This book is remarkable not only in the comprehensiveness of its coverage of specific aspects of therapy but also in the flexibility and freedom of dogmatism of the writer. Wolberg's position appears to be best described as eclectic-psychoanalytic. Wolberg has something good to find in all varieties of psychotherapy. Insight therapy, catharsis, re-education, environmental manipulation, support, reassurance, hypnosis, dream interpretation, free association, and persuasion all have their place for different kinds of therapy and for different kinds of cases. It will be useful in teaching psychotherapy and as a reference for those who practice psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of experiential psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of experiential psychotherapy by Leslie S. Greenberg, Jeanne C. Watson, and Germain Lietaer (see record 1999-02133-000). The editors of this book note that what they call the experiential therapies (such as client-centered, Gestalt, and existential therapies) have receded into the background since their heyday in the sixties and seventies. Their stated purpose in this useful book is to make professionals aware of how experiential therapies have become more focused, generated a new theoretical perspective on human functioning, and continued research on the process of change. The editors also wish to integrate the experiential therapies to become an alternative to cognitive and dynamic approaches to therapy. Each chapter contains a reference section for those who wish to pursue any of the topics in more depth. The editors might not have succeeded in shaping the experiential therapies as an integrated alternative to the prevailing approaches of our day, but they definitely have provided an exposition of this approach that can inform every clinician's work, no matter what orientation he or she espouses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Bion and group psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Bion and group psychotherapy edited by Malcolm Pines (1985). Group therapists familiar with the work of Wilfred Bion have long struggled with the question of how to utilize his contributions to our understanding of group dynamics in their conduct of therapy groups. Malcolm Pines addresses this question as well as a number of others in his compendium Bion and Group Psychotherapy. Some authors describe Bion as they experienced him and comment on the influence he had on their lives. Despite these "personal" comments, the picture of Bion that emerges from a reading of the volume is somewhat elusive. While he was clearly admired and appreciated, he does not seem to have been a person whom others got to know very well. He seems to have been experienced not only as creative and imposing but also as enigmatic. One emerges with a sense that others admired him from afar. Nevertheless, his influence on a number of authors represented in this volume seems to have been substantial. Most of what is commented on is that Bion helped people learn to be able to open themselves to what people project into and onto them and to be able to tolerate and work with the psychotic parts of individuals and groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Resolving counterresistances in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Resolving counterresistances in psychotherapy by Herbert S. Strean (see record 1993-97727-000). Counterresistance is the therapist's resistance to the patient, an important topic that does not usually get the attention that the patient's resistance does. This book strives to diminish the attention differential by turning the spotlight on many specific examples of therapist resistance. It also uses a variety of classificatory schemas to tie practice and theory together. A positive aspect of the book is that it is an addition to the existing literature on the role of therapists in therapy, for many years a relatively neglected topic and certainly one that deserves continual scrutiny. Several criticisms are noted. For example, the distinction between countertransference, an already familiar term, and counterresistance, is not particularly clear. Also, in service of highlighting the struggle for therapists to act as they should the book overemphasizes therapists' limitations. The book is still useful, however, but it would have been much better if it appeared more attuned to the therapy that also goes on relatively unmarked by counterresistances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The creative process of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, The creative process of psychotherapy by Albert Rothenberg (see record 1987-98784-000). Rothenberg's most recent work is a slim, elegantly crafted volume bearing an unanticipated impact. The subject, psychotherapy as a "creative process," suggests a threadbare humanistic cliché, a pleasing phrase devoid of meaning or procedural import. However, creativity emerges from this work as an unexpectedly legitimate, specifiable, and procedurally relevant dimension of psychotherapy. Rothenberg sees the creative process as consisting of three basic elements: the "homospatial" process, the "janusian" process, and a more vaguely defined general function labeled "articulation." It is the homospatial and janusian notions that yield the most productive applications to therapy. The homospatial process involves imagining a literal superimposition of two or more discrete sensory entities, entities such as visual images, patterns of sound, and so on. This imagined superimposition is not a regression to primary process, not a condensation or fusion, but rather a dynamic, unstable interaction that yields products both new and valuable. The janusian process refers to simultaneously conceiving two or more antithetical notions. In the author's thinking, articulation is a general function which, while encompassing the previously mentioned processes, includes other patterns as well. Despite isolated deficits, this work is a mature, masterful treatment of a critically important issue in clinical work. The author accurately points out that the richest and most productive therapy is creative, and he encourages us as helpers to give freer rein to our homospatial and janusian functions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychoanalysis at the margins.

Reviews the book, Psychoanalysis at the margins by Paul E. Stepansky (see record 2009-22624-000). For more than two decades, there have been conferences and publications about psychoanalysis’ being in a crisis. None of these calls has led to a radical reorganization or reorientation of psychoanalysis. The result has been that psychoanalysis has become marginal: if in the 1960s a large percentage of professorships in psychiatry were held by psychoanalysts, now there are practically none. There are hardly any graduate programs in clinical psychology that are psychoanalytically oriented, and there are very few professorships in psychology that are in the hands of psychoanalysts. And while there are still many psychoanalytic institutes that succeed in attracting candidates, there are almost no patients left that come for classical psychoanalysis. Stepansky’s book is a major achievement and should be read by anybody concerned with the future of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Self-disclosure in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Self-disclosure in psychotherapy by Barry A. Farber (see record 2006-11792-000). At one point or another, most therapists have wondered how much their patients are telling them and wrestled with how much they should reveal themselves to their patients. This book aims to provide an integrative and up-to-date review of the literature that has addressed these kinds of questions. By looking at patient, therapist, supervisee, and supervisor self-disclosure, Farber attempts to show both common and unique aspects of self-disclosure across the different parties involved in psychotherapy. Work from historical, clinical, research, and cultural perspectives comes together to provide readers with a multifaceted view of self-disclosure in psychotherapy. This book will be of interest to therapists, researchers, psychotherapy supervisors, and therapists-in-training. Farber's discussion of self-disclosure offers a nuanced perspective on the dilemmas involved in the psychotherapy process. By highlighting the features of self-disclosure across patients, therapists, supervisees, and supervisors, Farber enriches understanding of the phenomenon and encourages empathy for the perspectives of those in other psychotherapy roles. We believe that Farber has successfully synthesized work from various perspectives to create an illuminating review of self-disclosure in psychotherapy. The book condenses a broad range of literature into clearly organized and digestible chapters. The integration of research and theory with clinical vignettes, quotations from books and movies, and popular song lyrics make this work an unusually engaging and accessible read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychoanalytic participation: Action, interaction, and integration.

Reviews the book, Psychoanalytic participation: Action, interaction, and integration by Kenneth A. Frank (see record 1999-04095-000). Frank's book is an extremely timely, well-written, and scholarly book that integrates the recent developments within the two-person, relational perspective in contemporary psychoanalysis with an active, pragmatic approach that includes many cognitive and behavioral technical innovations. This book initially appears to be directed toward a psychoanalytic audience that is on the cusp of appreciating an expanding repertoire of active, cognitive, and behavioral approaches. However, Frank's presentation is so comprehensive and thoughtful that the book is also an excellent text for nonpsychoanalytic therapists (and students) to develop an understanding of the contemporary two-person, relational approaches to psychotherapy. Frank presents a deeply integrative approach that appears to be guided by a particular set of values that emphasize both a commitment to a pragmatic approach of helping patients reach their life goals and the therapist's self-understanding of the complexity, the interpersonal impact, and the meaning of all therapeutic events and interventions on both participants. This is an excellent book either for the psychoanalytic therapist who is ready to be more active and engaged with patients or for the cognitive and behavioral therapist who is ready to integrate a more dynamic, two-person approach to the transference-countertransference relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)