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The lack of adequate clinical reports has long been considered a real problem in presenting to physicians and to the laity the work of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. In this book Dorothy Baruch sensitively and artistically makes one of the best contributions to this need. “One Little Boy” is the story of the treatment of a youngster, suffering from asthma and presenting difficulties in school which reflected his inner conflicts. It is the story of a therapy which involved the child and his parents in individual treatment and group therapy. This book therefore offers an understanding of a well-integrated treatment program which recognizes the importance of involving the whole family in the therapy of the child, and which also utilizes group as well as individual therapy.
“One Little Boy” is an admirable presentation of the therapist in action, and it is particularly valuable as a demonstration of the technique of child therapy. Miss Baruch shows not only her own keen sense of restraint and participation, both verbally and physically, but indicates the direction any therapist of children must follow. She epitomizes the freedom to act in concert with the child in the various dramas he utilizes to present himself in treatment. In her way, Miss Baruch demonstrates the practical working out of child treatment which Anna Freud has indicated in her work. She recognizes the value of play activity, but she does not go to the lengths of such practitioners as Melanie Klein in making immediate universal interpretations of the material. Interpretations are made, but only after careful integration with the previous work of the child and co-ordination with the material she has gained from her concurrent work with the parents. As a consequence she expresses a caution and a tentativeness in her conclusions which is consistent with the approach to therapy modern psychoanalysis recognizes to be essential. In addition, she recognizes that the child cannot be fully known unless we have