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Ferdinand and Jirina Knobloch address themselves directly to a question troublesome to many but generally brushed aside by most psychotherapists, namely, why is there such fragmentation in the field? Why are so many different theoretical models invoked and so many differing therapeutic practices followed? To take on a question of this magnitude is a risky task, requiring much of those who attempt to do so. For one thing, a rich historical and philosophical perspective would be needed in addition to a good theoretical and working knowledge of the various modalities of therapy. For another, it takes courage and persistence to work out an approach that seeks to arrive at a scientific common denominator that can encompass what is valuable in the diverse approaches while avoiding the fragmentation and defensive exclusivity that so often are the hallmarks of a particular school.
The Knoblochs are uniquely qualified for the task. A husband and wife team, they have a cross-cultural background, having worked first in Czechoslovakia and later in Canada and the United States; they have a background in the philosophy of science, with a strong allegiance to those who have attempted to work out a unified science approach (Carnap, Schlick, Feigl); they have scholarly knowledge of the theoretical issues and conceptual confusions that characterize the field of psychotherapy today; and finally, they have had the opportunity to test out their ideas in a variety of settings. The outcome of all this is their notion of integrative psychotherapy, and the book is devoted to the theoretical and practical exposition of this concept.
The theoretical stress is on the interpersonal context as that which shapes all human behavior. Here they skillfully and quite effectively, I think, take on those who argue the case for the intrapsychic as distinguished from the interpersonal. Philosophically they link the notion of the intrapsychic to the original Cartesian belief in the nonspatiality of mind. The