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We are, most of us, ready for our field to move beyond pitting psychodynamics versus the biologic—the old debates now seem stale and trivial. We have always known that the two were joined; how could it be otherwise? Moreover, modern clinicians, like it or not, must live in both worlds, each with different jargon and philosophical assumptions. De facto, each clinician, then, will arrive at his or her own integration, knowing that there will be contradictions and gaps of knowledge. Nevertheless, I was not prepared to like this book so much: at this juncture to explain the science behind psychotherapy seems not only a tall order but one likely to be filled by a tall tale. Approaching my reviewer's task I mused that such a book might nonetheless be a signpost, reflecting a contemporary attitudinal shift rather than describing actual scientific underpinnings to psychodynamics. Ultimately though, I got more than I anticipated—indeed, I was won over. Vaughan's sheer enthusiasm and her marshaling of extensive, relevant knowledge are like a breath of fresh air.
Vaughan herself is a bright, engaging author who, we learn, is on the verge of graduating from her analytic training. She is of a new generation of psychoanalysts, one grown up with computers and the Internet; neurobiology and Prozac; classical psychoanalysis, self psychology, and relational models. Accordingly, the synthesis she arrives at is not a shotgun marriage, but that of an engaged academic practitioner immersed in the issues and culture of her time. Her associations range from neural nets to Disney to Saab commercials. This, though, is what we would hope for—not a polemic, but an embracing of many positions at once in her attempt to integrate modern practice. She is surefooted and sprightly as an author; in keeping with her intended general audience, her writing is breezy, informational, and spunky.
Vaughan's primary integrative approach is a mapping strategy: she is looking for correspondences, consistency, an