The author of this book is assistant professor of sociology and social psychology in the University of Wisconsin. The setting for the investigation on which the text is based was the Department of Psychiatry in a large university teaching hospital, where interviews were conducted, recorded and analyzed along with other data drawn from the members of four professions, namely, clinical psychology, social work, recreation and psychiatric nursing.

Speaking generally, the book represents the socio-dynamic approach to mental health problems which has become popular in recent years. The sociological approach to the study of mental health and disorder has usually been applied to the patients and their families, or community situation, but the present investigation deals with a hospital organization, the tensions, conflicts and various situations that certain staff members find it necessary to solve in some way.

The professionals groups were “studied within a common theoretical