Presented with two books that seek to explore the relationship between the post-modern turn in continental philosophy and the development of psychotherapy, one might be forgiven for approaching these volumes with a degree of trepidation. After all, the titles, while suggesting a comprehensive and definitive review of the subject matter, are also both ambitious and somewhat ambiguous. However, these texts offer much to the determined reader wishing to better understand the influence of contemporary philosophical thought on the development of psycho therapeutic theory and practice. Seminal thinkers such as Husserl, Heiddeger, Sartre and Lacan are critiqued and their theoretical insights linked to aspects of clinical practice. This requires that the reader move, fairly rapidly at times, from a consideration of one set of ideas to another. Fortunately, the editors and their co-contributors generally evidence an ability to clarify and interlink many of the dominant themes that emerge. It is my intention to consider the books individually, for though they