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The third part of a study on psychotherapy, (the previous two parts have already been reviewed in This QUARTERLY, XXVI, 1957, pp. 557-558), this volume is principally concerned with the role of the therapist in psychotherapy. More than half the book deals with interpretation, and the remainder with what the author terms 'more active therapy', such as reassurance, suggestion, commands, persuasion, and advice. As in the previous volumes, Symonds makes no effort to discuss psychoanalysis separately.
Volume III has the advantage over the preceding two of quoting some clinical examples to illustrate the author's points. However, these examples are not from his own experience but from the works of Kenneth M. Colby, Felix Deutsch, and the latter and William F. Murphy. Again, this volume suffers from too much generalization, and the author's need for neat categorization leads to inaccurate polarized formulations. For example, he states (p. 339) that 'the therapist wishes through interpretation to enable his patient to substitute intellectual, contemplative, and reflective responses for impulsive, emotional, and defensive reactions'. Certainly Professor Symonds neglects the role of the patient's emotions in insight and in the understanding of interpretations.
In another place he mentions how the therapist's use of the patient's language will help the patient to become involved in the transference and make an identification with the therapist. But would not this rather facilitate the therapist's identification with the patient instead of the reverse as Professor Symonds states? Certainly the use of the patient's language is of value in helping the patient to understand interpretations in the most immediate way. The imprecision of Professor Symonds's formulations, as in this last example, would seem to be very confusing to the neophyte therapist for whom these volumes are intended.