Borderlands of Sanity: Thorkil Vanggaard. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1979

In the introduction to his book, the author states that it is intended for the use of psychiatrists and psychologists doing clinical work at the postgraduate level. In addition to his training and experience as a psychoanalst, the author has training in general psychiatry and nearly 20 years experience as a postgraduate teacher at the Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Copenhagen. His experience in general psychiatry leaves its mark on the way he applies psychoanalytic theory to describe and explain the psychodynamics of psychic disturbances covered in the book. In addition to psychodynamic knowledge gained by psychoanalysis and analytic psychotherapy, he makes good use of – among other things – the unconscious factors discovered by LSD treatment to explain neurotic structures. The author's thorough knowledge of medical and other somatic treatments, besides psychotherapy, enables him to compare the suitability of different treatment methods for various disturbances.

In the chapter on neuroses one finds a thorough account of the phenomenology, psychodynamics and treatment of anxiety neurosis, compulsive-obsessive neurosis and hysteria. Before the outbreak of neurotic symptoms, the patient suffering from the aforementioned neurosis has been found to have – practically without exception – the corresponding character neurosis, which has developed as a defence against unconscious drive conflicts. The defensive operations are mainly directed against aggressive drive impulses. The patient's neurotic symptoms disappear, or are alleviated, when the aggressive impulses are made conscious by means of psychotherapy or other treatment, but the treatment of character neurotic traits usually requires psychoanalysis. Other neurotic disturbances, e.g. some of the most essential sexual disturbances as well as the homosexual tendencies of heterosexual people, are described from the psychodynamic viewpoint.