Why Psychoanalysis? (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism)
These two books defend the professional treatment of  psychological problems by listening and responding in the  Freudian manner, and they deplore the current dominance of  neuroscience, pharmacology, and behaviorism. In Why  Psychoanalysis?, French psychoanalyst, historian, and critic  Roudinesco refers to our "depressive society" and our loss of  subjectivity in the era of individuality. She fiercely defends  Freud against "fanatical" opponents, even claiming that he was  not antifeminist. Roudinesco will appeal to scholars of Freud  and Jacques Lacan, of whom some knowledge is assumed.  Unfortunately, though Roudinesco wants psychoanalysis to be a  science, she often waxes polemical when a clear, objective  evaluation of Freud is needed. For that, a general audience will  be better served by Elio Frattaroli's Healing the Soul in the  Age of the Brain (LJ 8/01). For a more readable presentation of  the cultural nexus of psychiatry, Julian Leff's The Unbalanced  Mind (LJ 11/15/01) is outstanding.  In The Gift of Therapy, Yalom (psychiatry, emeritus, Stanford)  writes for both the professional and the lay reader a good idea,  since educated consumers help bring professionals into the real  world. He favors some self-disclosure by therapists, home  visits, meeting with significant others, nonsexual touching, and  time for reflection on each session. In 85 short chapters, he  presents little pearls of ideas shaped from 35 years in  practice. Yalom's view that the therapist is also healed in the  process reminds this reviewer of James P. Carse's philosophy.  Yalom's latest is essential for therapy trainers and fine for  general libraries with psychology and self-help collections. For  a general selection of this respected psychiatrist's earlier  work, including fiction, consider The Yalom Reader (Basic Bks:  Perseus, 1998). E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch.  of Medicine, Washington, DCCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.