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In a clear and swift manner, Dr. Clarke shows in his first chapter how much neglected the psychiatric training of the public health nurse is, and the important rôle mental hygiene could and should play in community health. The author describes in actual short case histories the nature of the various problems in the field of
mental hygiene, some of their precipitating factors, and the measures taken for correction. He follows the individual from his birth well into his adult life. In discussing the various conduct disorders, he points out the right moment for the school nurse to take over. The problems of adoption are particularly well presented, and advice is given with wisdom and restraint.
Less well presented are some of the problems taken up under the heading, The Adolescent. The author describes, for instance, an eighteen-year-old boy who does needlework, knitting and cooking, in the company of his mother, in preference to athletic activities. Dr. Clarke classifies this problem as 'over-submissive' and complains that no headway was made at the psychiatric clinic. The psychoanalyst is not surprised! This kind of oversimplification is misleading and, if the author felt that no more could be said about the dynamics of this case, it had better been omitted from the list.
The importance of the proper approach to the mental state of the convalescent and invalid is emphasized; the selection of the right kind of occupational therapy, including books, is worked out well. The author takes up briefly the neuroses and psychoses, showing that unhappiness can be averted more by kind understanding than by applying disciplinary methods.
The last chapter is devoted to the psychology of the community nurse herself. Her possible stumbling blocks—(1) defensiveness, (2) overaggressiveness or egocentricity, (3) inhibitions and repression, (4) identification, (5) fear reactions—are analyzed and sound advice is given.
The bibliography is arranged by chapters. It is abundant an