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The 14 various papers that contributed to a conference on cure by an array of expert clinicians were collected in this book. I at first had the hope that there would be an integrated approach to the psychodynamics of cure, but that seems at the present time beyond our ability. The editor's failure to integrate, contrast, or compare detracts from the book. But, nevertheless, the papers are of such high quality that they merit reading and rereading in order not only to understand the theoretical thinking that underlies each of the papers but to enjoy and ponder the fascinating vignettes that each of the participants offers. The book could well serve as advanced reading for psychoanalytic candidates at institutes or indeed could be reading material for an ongoing seminar for more mature clinicians.
In addition to grappling with the process of cure, many of the contributors seek to define and conceptualize some of the basic concepts of psychoanalysis. The very first chapter in the book deals with the challenging concept of neutrality. In this chapter, Anne Alonso raises the fundamental question for analysis: “Are genuine involvement with another person and honest neutrality somehow antithetical?” Sometimes, she says, it is easier to define neutrality by what it is not. It is not indifference, coldness, remoteness, blandness, or lack of concern for the patient. She describes neutrality as the analyst's not taking action when abstaining is better and as not making judgments or giving advice. Her discussion then is organized about three aspects of neutrality: 1) the differences between drive theorists and relational theorists; 2) the question of safety; and 3) the curative factors in psychoanalytic theory and the place of neutrality in them. She feels that neutrality is best described in a two-person framework rather than in a one-person psychology and that neutrality is an emphasis on the nonauthoritarian