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As an introduction to dream interpretation this large volume must justify its existence through the presentation of a special point of view. Ostensibly in the interest of briefer and more economical analysis, a technique of 'active dream interpretation', derived largely from formulations of Stekel, Jung, and Silberer, is described at length. It is essentially a technique of symbol interpretation, taking some clues from the clinical context. It proposes to obviate lengthy associations and by-pass resistances. Dr. Gutheil presents a method for making use of such interpretation in serial dreams to arrive at reconstructions of infantile traumata directly, with little or no contribution from the patient's associations. He fails to acknowledge the impingement of the patient's manifold communications on the preconscious mental operations of the analyst, so that he speaks of the use of 'intuition' in interpretations that do not arise directly out of analysis of symbols in dreams. Strangely, after devoting a long chapter to 'active interpretation', he cautions that it is to be used only in exceptional circumstances, when the 'regular process of analysis' is impeded. What his view of the 'regular process' may be is not indicated and becomes more mysterious when he disparages free association as 'the most fickle part of dream interpretation'.
Consistent with the devaluation of free association is Dr. Gutheil's injunction to the patient: 'We insist that [he] write his dreams down immediately on awakening. Later, parts of the dream or even the entire dream may be forgotten.' Failure to follow this instruction is resistance, and resistance, Dr. Gutheil implies, is bad.
A moralizing note arises also out of a preoccupation with 'anagogic' trends (following Jung) where most of us would postulate the pressure of the superego. This results in such quaint statements as 'The dream shows the patient's serious desire to get rid of his weakness';