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This is a fine book. It is written by competent clinicians, and the chapter on Case Histories is itself worth the price of the book. For the increasing number of professionals who feel stylishly or philosophically against psychoanalysis, this book is a good antidote to prevent generalizations that anyone trained as a psychoanalyst must of necessity be “old-fashioned” or ineffectual. The subtitle reflects its focus: The Theory and Practice of Supportive Care. With the start of so many new programs in community mental health, this book is needed as a plea for individualization of treatment so that large numbers of persons are not “cattle-ized” into nothing but five-minute pill receivers.
The publisher's comment on the inside of the dust jacket is correct: “A literate, common-sense approach to the treatment of chronic disability is presented here in a revealingly human, resourcefully pragmatic fashion.” Supportive care emphasizes working with a patient's abilities and strengths, minimizing the impact of his disabilities. Supportive care is not a superficial or second-rate kind of professional treatment. It is a meaningful, effective curative process.
The authors are at their best in the main section, on Practice, although the part on Theory is a relatively brief and well presented section. Clinicians of any persuasion will do well to read and reread this excellent book, as well as use it in any training programs with which they may be associated.