Psychotherapy, Adolescents, and Self-Psychology by Gustavo A. Lage and Harvey K. Nathan Madison, CT:  International Universities Press, 1991,  xxxii + 448 pp., $55.00 The Intimate Edge: Extending the Reach of Psychoanalytic Interaction by Darlene Bregman Ehrenberg New York:  W. W. Norton, 1992,  xi + 210 pp., $24.95 Character Structure and the Organization of the Self by Lawrence Josephs Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychotherapy: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives. New York:  Columbia University Press, 1992,  viii + 332 pp., $50.00

These three books deal primarily with clinical issues, and all of them will be of interest to psychotherapeutic clinicians. The books differ in many ways, both in orientation and manner of presentation.

Understanding the audience for whom the book is intended is extremely important for assessing the work by Lage and Nathan. Their book is written in an easily readable style, resembling a teaching seminar. The case of a late adolescent boy is presented by Nathan (a pseudonym) and discussed by Lage. Most of the book consists of Nathan's description of sessions, but without much verbatim material, and Lage's discussion of each set of sessions. The authors aim at helping beginners who are learning both about the treatment of adolescents and about self psychology. In my opinion, their presentation is admirably successful for these ends.

The book is introduced by a five-page outline of the basic concepts of self psychology. This section is the weakest part of the book and should not deter the reader, because these concepts are discussed and illustrated by most of the following material. For example, one paragraph devoted to “transmuting internalizations”