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This is a book that is difficult to read and even more difficult to discuss. The authors tell us that their frame of reference centers on the fundamental structure of the unconscious and the issue of power in human relations. In particular the role of power in the sense of social control and interpersonal authority is considered to be a pivotal therapeutic issue. The authors tell us that “those people who possess socio-economic power are able to control those who do not” (p. 6). In the next paragraph we find the statement “It is striking that not all people with socioeconomic control dominate interpersonally.” There is some doubt in my mind that all leadership is predominantly based on power, since competence, sensitivity, concern, and empathy may play a significant role in achieving authoritative rather that authoritarian leadership. To lead does not necessarily mean to dominate. In this connection, I am also troubled by the construct of interpersonal authority since it does not leave much room for egalitarian relationships. In my opinion, the approach recommended by the authors is excessively anchored in the principle of role playing, counter role playing, and the exercise of authority. In the introduction to the book, we are informed that the method discussed in the book is based on the fundamental structure of the unconscious. I confess that I am unfamiliar with the core structure of the unconscious, and that I did not come across a clarification in the text.
We are told that clients in psychotherapy deal with the microenvironment of their family where the primary problem is viewed as a primary battle between domination and submission. It is difficult for me to accept that the intrafamilial power struggle with due respect to its significance, constitutes the primary locus and focus of neurosis and therapy.
The authors present a number of pathological dyads which they consider to be mainly the result of miscarriages of power distribution based on social control and