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The fruits of a joint research study by members of the staff of the Institute of Marital Studies and a London Social Services Department are recorded here by two of the I.M.S. group. They show courage and dedication to the task of working for three years (1974-77) alongside
the social workers in the Social Services Department without allowing themselves to become defended against the distress of the clients in the core sample (a group of 38 very damaged marital couples) or their social workers. Their observations are written up in a way that is well-organised, often sharp and vigorous, but always humane and objective. They present a cogent and firmly focused, if limited, picture of how the clients, the workers and the organisation can become entangled in a web of unconscious collusion against a sea of pain and impossible demands in which splitting and blaming, and various forms of flight from the work, can jeopardise the fulfilment of the task of the department to serve its clients. The authors, perhaps unfortunately, do not chance their arm and try to prescribe for the ills that they describe. Rather, they indicate a hope that understanding each other better might help the various groups of professionals involved to be more mutually forgiving of shortcomings and thus more helpful to their clients.
One of the authors is a member of the Society of Analytical Psychology (Janet Mattinson) but this book is not primarily about therapy and says nothing new on that subject. It is, however, a ‘must’ for social service planners.