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Irving Bieber has been a prolific author of papers and a contributor to many conferences and seminars. He has made an added contribution to our field by bringing together in one volume a number of papers written between the years 1949 and 1980, integrating them under the general title, Cognitive Psychoanalysis. Such a collection brings a unity to his work and offers a very solid theoretical and practical foundation to his therapeutic approach. As a matter of fact, the thread that runs through all of the chapters is a practical and clinical one, so that this book can be highly recommended for the beginning therapist. With its specific focus on cognitive psychoanalysis and several papers on a critical analysis of Freudian metapsychology, this volume is of value for the advanced and experienced psychoanalyst as well.
Dr. Bieber emphasizes the role of hurt and fear in the development of psychopathology and the work of psychoanalysis in uncovering the beliefs, rational and irrational, which give support to the fears which paralyze the individual. In doing so he stresses the function of cognition in contrast to affect, which Freud had accentuated. His definition of cognitive psychoanalysis seems simple enough, “… [it is] oriented to delineating and resolving irrational beliefs that give rise to fears and to pathological consequences.” He then goes on to discuss in a precise and concise manner how this approach can be used in a variety of psychiatric conditions. Without any jargon, he reviews conditions such as sadism, masochism, disorders of the work function and other neurotic behavior. Utilizing dreams, free association, attitudes and behavior, the therapist seeks out the underlying beliefs which support the irrational fears which are distorting the behavior of the individual. Since Dr. Bieber is keenly aware of man as a biosocial animal, he sees the development of irrational fears in terms of education, social forces, values and morality.
Again and again, in very clearly