(1933). Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 2:169-170 Review by: Ives Hendrick The first edition of this book, of which one hundred thousand copies were sold, appeared in 1921, just at the time when the mental hygiene movement was gathering momentum. It is not difficult to believe that the book's simplicity of style and avoidance of words technical and "nasty" gained for it the popularity it enjoyed among untrained and naive readers. Its argument that psychoneuroses are definite disease processes, requiring skilled medical attention and implying no disgrace, is valuable. It is unfortunate, however, that the book creates an impression of ease and universality of psychotherapeutic success far beyond actual achievements. Psychoanalysts will appreciate the authors' extensive acknowledgment of Freud, a virtue too rare among those who attempt to present his ideas while altering his vocabulary. Nevertheless, if the authors had been analysts themselves, such statements as these would not have been penned: "transference is a state of rapport between physician [This is a summary or excerpt from the full text of the book or article. The full text of the document is available to subscribers.] |
