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Neville Symington is a member of the national psycho-analytic societies of both Britain and Australia. He is now practising near Sydney. He writes in a refreshing manner that reveals no particular allegiance to any school. Rather he reflects on depth psychology in general and upon what makes a psychotherapist. Although the book is directed toward psychotherapists in contrast to psychoanalysts, the distinction is not rigidly maintained. The goal of psychotherapy is given as ‘cure’ while that of psychoanalysis is ‘understanding one's own mind’ (p. xvi).
The author makes the now standard disclaimer regarding ‘sexist’ language but puts the onus directly where it belongs: he uses conventional masculine pronouns ‘until the English language has caught up with current social developments’.
Jung is treated respectfully as part of the larger enterprise of depth psychology. As to ‘moral’ emphasis he is grouped with Fairbairn and Klein (p. 7). Along with Ferenczi, Jones, Adler, Stekel, Hans Sachs and Abraham, Jung is located in Freud's early circle (p. 13). Jung is also grouped with Talcott Parsons and Bion as ‘theorists who interfaced psychology and sociology’. Missing is any discussion of Jung's unique contributions, such as the objective psyche and archetypes.
Winnicott and Klein are contrasted as championing environmental (Winnicott) or intrapsychic influences (Klein). Relating to Fairbairn's ‘inner saboteur’, Symington acknowledges that the psyche contains both therapeutic and anti-therapeutic forces. Shadow is not mentioned as such, but Jung is quoted as saying, ‘the patient does not feel himself accepted unless the very worst in him is accepted too’.
Early on (p. 3) he tells the moving Buddhist story of Kisa Gotami, a young mother who would not relinquish her dead baby, asking Buddha to restore him to life. Buddha ignored the absurdity of her request and offered to resurrect the corpse if she would bring him mustard seeds from a house in which no one had ever died. Finding n