Unusual Interventions: Alterations of the Frame, Method, and Relationship in Psychotherapy, edited by Salman Akhtar,  Karnac Books, London, 2011,  250 pp.

I trained in a viewpoint other than that of a traditional psychoanalytic institute. Therefore, I did not have to undergo the “rights of passage” of what has been termed “the impossible profession” (Malcolm, 1981). My own initial training was in Jungian analysis, at a time when such analytic work was “persona non grata” to most of the Freudian world, and dialogue between the two points of view was virtually impossible for historical, political, and institutional reasons. However my analyst, Joseph B. (“Jo”) Wheelwright, himself analyzed by Jung, ranged easily between the Jungian and Freudian worlds, and pre-dating myself, was a member of this Academy. For my own part I have been regularly associated with the traditional psychoanalytic approach during the many years of my professional work.

During my career, my own professional identity has become eclectic. No one approach does justice to what happens in the consulting room. Therefore I no longer subscribe to a particular “theory” or “technique” in preference to others. They all have their place, depending on the people involved, the moment, and the general situation. The central guiding principle is to be of maximum help.