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The author describes and recommends procedures in practice at the Montclair-West Essex Guidance Center, Montclair, New Jersey, where she is the Clinical Director. 'The main purpose of this book is to alert the beginning therapist to a variety of situations that often occur in child psychotherapy, and to provide examples of how he might deal with them according to his own feelings, judgments and ability to follow through.'
Dr. Swanson considers her approach eclectic, 'following those concepts and methods which appear to be practical under particular circumstances'. She expects the young therapist to be equally flexible after having acquainted himself with various psychotherapeutic philosophies and having considered 'the techniques and procedures he can use most effectively' with his particular 'personality functioning'. Just how the young therapist is supposed to arrive at such decisions does not become clear.
A Rogerian trend is discernible in the description of therapy as 'providing the milieu that will stimulate the child and help him to replace the distorted and defeating aspects of his personality with the strengths that actually lie within him and his environment'. While many of the recommendations aimed at achieving a relationship with the child display good common sense, they are not necessarily helpful in establishing a therapeutic relationship. No distinction is made between an approach which might be useful with a psychotic child, while counterindicated with one who is neurotic. In some instances the games and activities suggested would be likely to interfere with, rather than promote, the establishment of a therapeutic alliance. There is no dynamic orientation by which the therapist might be able to decide on the appropriateness of a specific procedure in the instance of a particular