Editor's Introduction

The term applied psychoanalysis generally denotes the psychoanalytic study of non-clinical phenomena such as art, literature, biography, and, more recently, cinema. The fact, however, is that principles of psychoanalysis are more frequently “applied” to diverse practices in the clinical realm itself. In treating patients, psychoanalytic thinking goes beyond psychoanalysis proper. The foremost offspring of psychoanalysis is psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Other treatment modalities such as family therapy, group therapy, and marital counseling also draw heavily on the contributions of psychoanalysis. Even supportive psychotherapy (see especially Werman, 1984) takes into account certain concepts derived from psychoanalysis e.g. the state of transference, resistance, and ego vulnerabilities. Viewed as such, the term applied psychoanalysis becomes broadened, with matters from both clinical and non-clinical realms coming under its purview.

The journal's book review section encompasses this expanded view of the term. Therefore it not only includes reviews of psychoanalytic books regarding cultural themes but also of books about clinical approaches that are derived from psychoanalysis. Two such books are reviewed in this issue. The first is titled Group. It is written by Claudio Neri, an Italian psychoanalyst and group therapist. This book, reviewed by Jill Scharff, provides an opportunity to encounter Italian and French innovations in the theoretical and clinical aspects of group therapy. It synthesizes Freud's ideas about group psychology with the important contributions of Bion and Foulkes. Issues pertaining to group processes, group thought, the group's relationship to an individual, and the institutional aspects of the group are discussed. In her review, Scharff highlights the essential concepts offered by the author in a simple and straight-forward manner. Her comment that “the book has weight but does not feel heavy” applies equally to her own review of it.

The second bo