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Asked to assess the concert performances of the Rolling Stones, the pass rush of Lawrence Taylor of the Giants, or Boris Becker's powerful first serve, the adolescent of today is likely to respond with a single descriptive word: awesome.
To my mind, Lawrence Friedman is in a class with the Stones, with Lawrence Taylor, and with Boris Becker. His book The Anatomy of Psychotherapy is truly awesome. Bringing together work that Dr. Friedman has done during the past two decades, as well as new contributions, it mixes wit, wisdom, scholarship, and penetrating criticism with the insights of a philosopher and a historian to produce a truly remarkable volume.
In fact, although contained within one cover, Dr. Friedman's work is actually more than one book. It consists of several sections that may be viewed as separate monographs, each instructive, each informative. Perhaps the most notable contribution is Dr. Friedman's memorable work on the theory and practice of psychotherapy, a penetrating look at the belief system that informs the thinking of therapists and patients alike and a dissection of some of the unrecognized and little discussed needs that motivate much of the behavior of the two participants in the therapeutic encounter.
A second monograph-length work, impressive for its range, depth, and sophistication, comprises the sections devoted to the theory of