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It is both surprising and encouraging to find, within so short a time, two books that present a sympathetic interpretation of psychiatry to Roman Catholics. It is even better to find them very competent, and performing somewhat different functions so that one complements the other. Both volumes take a dynamic approach in psychiatry; both pay proper tribute to Freud; both are clear that, while religion may and often does assume pathological forms which psychiatry has obligations to acknowledge, religion as such is not pathological. Perhaps even more important, both books make it clear that religion is no more a substitute for psychiatry than surgery is. Both books are ironic in spirit, and may just as well be read by Jews, Protestants, and (non-militant) atheists, as by Catholics.
The Braceland-Stock book is actually a kind of brief textbook on psychiatry. The state of current understanding of nearly all forms of mental disorder is considered briefly and effectively. This is the book for the reader who, while not a technician, nevertheless wants to get a bird's-eye view of all the varieties of mental illness and what can be done for them.
The Gassert-Hall book is briefer, emphasizes much more the factors common to all forms and degrees of mental lilness rather than the clinical varieties, is more explicit about the way priests and others in religious orders may utilize psychiatric insight and help, and covers a wider spectrum with less detail. This is the book for the Catholic to read first. If he wants more information, let him follow with the Braceland-Stock book.