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This study is based on a doctor of philosophy dissertation presented to Bryn Mawr College in 1947. For this publication considerable changes were made in content and detail, eliminating much tabulation of data. However, the conclusions remain essentially the same. The author is at present Associate Professor of Social Work at the New York School of Social Work, Columbia University; and has had considerable experience, both practical and academic, in this field. For several years, she edited the Journal of Social Casework. She is considered to be an expert in marriage counseling.
Concerning marriage conflicts and difficulties little needs to be said as to their prevalence and importance. In a neurotic world, neurosis is reflected in marriage as elsewhere. No area of life can be expected to remain immune. “In the field of social work the greatest concentration of work on marriage problems has been in the family service agencies.” Economic, social, and personal collapse will quickly enough be reflected in family difficulties and soon the family agencies are called on for one type of assistance or other. Following the trend since the late twenties, under the impact of psychoanalytic work, there has been in the casework field a slow shift of emphasis to the psychological factors underlying marriage and family problems. Hollis' volume is designed to throw some light on the dynamics of marital conflicts, and their treatment in the light of what caseworkers are equipped for and able to do.
In some fourteen chapters, she covers such areas as excessive dependence, parental ties, need to suffer, rejection of femininity, sex responses, relatives, economic factors, etc. Each problem is illustrated by actual case work history-material. All this is done in fairly simple English without recourse to erudite (and often misunderstood) psychiatric or analytical jargon. Usually a case is followed indicating to the reader what and how the case-worker handled the problems involved. As is to