Diseases of the Ear

In many respects, however, it is quite unrivalled in the field. While its basic orientation is that of orthodox Freudian psychoanalysis, other approaches are by no means neglected; there are, for example, useful though brief comments on such matters as operant conditioning and existentialism. Analytical theory and therapy are appraised with considerable realism, and there is no suggestion that psychoanalysis provides a complete understanding of human behaviour, or that psychoanalytical therapy is a panacea for all ills. There is considerable realism about psychosomatic hypotheses-for example, "we lack an epidemiologic study of suppressed rage". An example of the authors' comprehensive approach appears in the section on juvenile delinquency, which is as wise and as balanced as any we have seen, comfortably integrating organic, social and experiential viewpoints. Other strikingly wise sections which have immediate appeal are those on the compensation neuroses and on antisocial personality disorders. A felicitous quotation from the last-mentioned section provides a healthy corrective to some modern thinking about antisocial acting out: