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This slim volume comprising four papers and two discussions on the therapeutic alliance is the published version of a workshop sponsored by the American Psychoanalytic Association and originally presented in Atlanta in 1993 and Denver in 1994. It elicits surprising excitement on this time-worn subject through the rigorous presentation of divergent views by the six authors, whose ideas often disagree while they still overlap in many instances. It evokes a satisfying but maddening dilemma in the reader's rethinking not only of the therapeutic alliance concept but also of related concepts about the analytic relationship, such as transference, countertransference, interpretation, insight and suggestion.
Along with earlier monographs in the American's Workshop Series, this one is equally engaging. One becomes quickly immersed in a gripping debate about the consequences of Freud's efforts to make psychoanalytic technique free of suggestion. He did this by conceptualising ‘the unobjectionable positive transference’ to deal with the patient's co-operation in the analytic endeavour. This is skilfully presented by the editor, Dr Steven Levy, who sets the stage with a scintillating comprehensive overview in his brief introduction. This alone is worth reading. He also introduces each paper with a useful summary of what is to follow.
Each paper offers a clear presentation by the author of his/her bias and one easily gains a firm understanding of each theoretical and