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.
This is a collection of papers, of which all but one have either been published in periodicals or read before professional groups. In view of the wide interest, publicity and controversy aroused by Rosen's methods and communications, the appearance of this book should be most welcome. It gives the opportunity to evaluate once more his approach from the theoretical as well as the practical viewpoint.
The adjective 'direct', which originally meant merely direct interpretations of the unconscious, is now used to describe the total approach to the patient. This approach is characterized by its 'forcefulness, closeness and lack of formality'. It is through this approach that the ego of the schizophrenic, which has been weakened in various ways and is being harassed by formidable anxieties on various levels, gains strength and can be nursed back to life. The most eloquent illustration of this role assumed by the therapist is provided by Rosen's first publication in which he described 'the resolution of acute catatonic excitement'. Here the author entered most actively and with true dedication into the psychotic world of the patient and enacted dramatically the parental figures which were threatening the patient. In this way, to use his own words, 'there was established a symbiotic relationship between the weak ego of the catatonic and the strong ego of the therapist'.
The second cornerstone of Rosen's technique is based on the direct interpretation. It is applied to all verbal and nonverbal