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In evaluating this book for a scientific journal one must consider it from two points of view: first, as a case study, covering a long series of interviews with an actual patient; and second, as a study in the development of unconscious material apart from personal implications.
The Case. Adler draws a picture of an actual woman whose inner experiences he describes. Her fears, her anxieties and hopes, her weakness and her strength are there for anyone with eyes to see, and so are the emotional problems dependent on the analytical process itself- the transference, the countertransference, and the projections inevitable in any fundamental coming-to-terms with the unconscious. His study demonstrates the process of individuation not only through the development of the symbols in the unconscious material but also through a detailed record of the steps by which it came about.…
This brings us to the second aspect of the present study, namely the amplification and suggested interpretations given to the material. These show a deep understanding and make one realize once again how profound, how condensed, how extraordinarily creative are the products of the unconscious. At first sight some of the dreams may seem trivial. But the significance of the material would often have been missed and the whole process delayed if only the arresting or ‘deep’ dreams had been discussed. The more trivial-seeming ones served to relate the impersonal archetypal process to the personal aspect of the woman herself and were indispensable to the solution of her problem.…
… Amplification beyond what the patient can use is definitely harmful, for it is only too likely to forestall him in his inner quest, undermining his sense of his own value, and increasing his dependence on the analyst; or, if he takes what he is told to himself