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The author, long associated with the Menninger Foundation, dedicates this work to Dr. Karl, his teacher, colleague and friend. He speaks of his mentor, Karl Menninger, in a way reminiscent of the deference which Ernest Jones showed toward Freud. It differs from the expansive references Dr. Karl makes to his brother, Dr. William, in The Vital Balance, of which Pruyser was one of the trio of authors.
The title of this book is somewhat misleading. One is inclined to think that in its pages he will find paved highways which will ease his journey through the intricacies of the psychological evaluation. There are indeed allusions to the commonly used tests, but these are skillfully blended into the total fabric of the book, which is primarily meant to be a vade mecum for the orientation of the neophyte clinician and proves to be a remarkably well-done overview of dynamic psychiatry that the experienced practitioner can relish.
Intended as a textbook for residents in psychiatry and neurology and for candidates in clinical psychology, The Psychological Examination is actually a compendium which focuses on that part of the psychiatric examination which prescinds from the medical work-up, while not ignoring it. Pruyser is very familiar with the basics of medicine and frequently provides succinct portrayals of neurological syndromes and topics which lie on the blurred borderline between psychiatry and neurology. His devotion to the Freudian scheme would please the father of psychoanalysis. His explication of points roughly wrought by the master are more than a modern translation of a sacred text. They transform the mechanistic concepts into a humanistic view while retaining the biological substrate. All of this is in keeping with the philosophy of the Menninger Foundation.
Pruyser writes with the security that stems from personal sagacity and full familiarity with all phases of his discipline. The book is easily read because it pulsates with the warmth of a friendly man who enjoy