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Practicing Psychotherapy is addressed to novice psychotherapists and has as its aim to demystify psychotherapy and demonstrate that effective therapists can be human and innovative. Basch wishes to counter “the fear of the unknown which too often rigidifies the newcomer to the field” (p. xv). It has been his experience (which is extensive and includes numerous workshops and conferences in addition to individual supervision) that many therapists, experienced as well as beginning, run into unnecessary, often prolonged difficulties with patients because they take a symptom-oriented approach. In contrast, Basch conceives of psychotherapy as “applied developmental psychology” (p. xv) and advocates a developmental approach.
Basch provides his readers with a few simple theoretical schemes that are of his own creation or are adaptations of facets of the work of others, specifically Kohut (1971, 1977, 1984) and Stern (1985). These schemes are interspersed with clinical examples and are spread over the first three chapters. No effort is made to integrate them (albeit they are not mutually incompatible), and they are presented as separate conceptual entities.
In Chapter 1, Basch describes “the developmental spiral,” for which he provides a diagram. At the bottom of the spiral are