Psycho-Imagination Therapy: The Integration of Phenomenology and Imagination. Joseph E. Shorr. New York: Intercontinental Medical Book Corp., 1972.  vii + 255 pp.

The application of existential philosophy to the therapeutic encounter has become widespread. The “here and now” and “I and thou” approaches have gained ascendancy in many treatment situations as genetic reconstruction and examination of the transference and the transference neurosis has declined. Psycho-Imagination Therapy is an addition to the literature of the existential school.

Heavily influenced by the British psychiatrist Laing, Shorr's thesis is that “there is nothing that leads to frustration and despair more quickly than the feeling that you are indeed not making a difference to anybody” and Psycho-Imagination Therapy is geared “to help people become strong enough not to allow others to define them falsely.” Foremost in the author's repertoire of treatment procedures are efforts to help the patient expand his imaginary processes. Word association tests, questions about “the most immoral thing a person can do” or “the biggest lie you ever told” are asked of the patient not only for diagnostic purposes but to stimulate self-awareness as well. By finishing sentences such as “Never call me—” or “Picture yourself on a blank