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On the Couch is in many ways a unique book in the psychoanalytic realm, given its rich and elegant illustrations, its scholarly review of classical history and literature, its detailed survey of ancient furniture and design, its concise yet penetrating history of visual art, and, finally, its critical appraisal of the role of the subject problem—the position of the couch in analytic practice.
As is well known, it was Freud himself who set the pattern in his technical progression. As Kravis puts it, “Freud’s use of the couch was the one constant feature in his journey from hypnosis and suggestion to psychoanalysis” (p. 129). The book carefully traces (richly illustrated) the progression from Freud’s lavish décor to the more austere design that characterizes the style of most contemporary practitioners today.
In his final chapter, Kravis spells out the moral and the practical issues that tend to influence those who think about the matter. “It is,” he concludes, “a cultural object with too long and complicated a genealogy for any single generation or community of analysts to be able to brand it” (p. 153).
In sum, On the Couch is a unique and, in many ways, exceptional book, offering for the reader a richly informative, superbly written and beautifully illustrated study of an essential but rather neglected issue in both the history of psychoanalysis and its current—and somewhat conflictual—situation.
As a note: The attentive reader will doubtless find in the Introduction this reviewer’s name in the list of Dr. Kravis’ colleagues. I can only assure him of the objective, if enthusiastic, nature of this review.