You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Dr. Levine's book fills a great need in the library of every physician. It is not a text book burdened with technical terms but is
full of facts and problems that are encountered in every doctor's daily practice. In times like these, when added strain and tension augment neurotic tendencies, and when at the same time there are not enough trained psychiatrists, the general practitioner is more frequently called upon. It is usually he who sees the patient first and, having the patient's and his family's confidence, he is in the best position to give advice. This book will help him make the most of his opportunities. It will show him what to look for with regard to mental disturbances, whether and how he should handle them himself and when he should refer them to a specialist.
Although the author states that he writes for the non-psychiatrist, he is addressing the psychiatrist as well, especially in the first chapter on Common Misconceptions in which the common misunderstandings of the non-psychiatrist are illuminatingly discussed.
Dr. Levine lists twenty-four misconceptions such as the rôle of heredity, the popularly supposed causations of mental illness like masturbation, overwork, daydreaming, sexual experiences. He draws no sharp line between normal and abnormal and makes clear that mental illness is no disgrace. He emphasizes the multiplicity of mental disturbances, their etiologies and the types of treatment.
Four chapters deal with various methods of psychotherapy starting with those that can and should be used by every doctor and are in fact unconsciously employed by every good physician. A personal, yet unemotional interest and understanding and a thoroughgoing physical examination, or medicinal treatment, are in themselves a form of psychotherapy. Advice tendered in difficult home situations, the fostering of interests and hobbies, occupational therapy and a certain amount of suggestion, are all of psychotherapeutic value. Dr. Levine distinguishes be