The trend toward remedicalization in psychiatry during the last two decades has been accompanied by a tendency by some clinicians to see psychoanalytic thinking as irrelevant. An unfortunate polarization has led many practitioners to view biological psychiatry and psychoanalytically informed psychiatry as antithetical to one another. Debates were staged at recent meetings of the American Psychiatric Association regarding whether or not psychodynamic theory should occupy a central role in the training of psychiatrists. Given this context, a book that illustrates the relevance of psychoanalysis in general psychiatry would be most welcome. Unfortunately, the volume under review here is for the most part a disappointing effort at such an integration.

Thomas Freeman is a retired British analyst who worked for many years as a general psychiatrist in hospital settings. He presents a wealth of fascinating clinical material throughout