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The arrival of this evocatively titled book should excite the interest of all psychoanalysts who view psychoanalysis as an alive and evolving clinical discipline that requires continuous reappraisal of both technique and theory. Owen Renik, who has been Editor of The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, as well as Chair of the Program Committee of the American Psychoanalytic Association, clearly has both stature and standing in the psychoanalytic world.
Furthermore, as the author of many frequently read papers that are part of the curriculum of most psychoanalytic institutes, Renik is indeed a psychoanalytic household name. The title of this relatively brief, beautifully written text in itself conveys what the reader can expect to encounter in this direct and personal account of how psychoanalysis can, in his opinion, save itself from continuing on its current pathway toward becoming increasingly obscure and ultimately obsolete. The book begins with this challenging sentence: “By now, the term practical psychoanalysis has become an oxymoron” (p. 1). Refusing to mince words, the author continues in his direct, muscular fashion: “The way psychoanalytic treatment is generally conducted, it is extremely impractical: it doesn't serve the needs of the vast majority of potential patients” (p. 1).
As a result of this directness, the reader quickly becomes aware of having entered into the thinking of an analyst who is a severe if not harsh critic of traditional psychoanalysis. Further reading reveals Renik as devoted to saving analysis from traditions that he considers antiquated and crippling to its effective (read