PSYCHOSOMATICS

can bl' identified as one who can face reality ratherthan resort to denial of his increasing problem.

The book has many illustrative case studies il­lustrating the various types of personalities and con­Aicts that can I('ad to alcohol addiction. Although ito(f('rs no panacea to the growing problem of alcohol­ism, it should prove to be helpful to both patientsas well as to the physicians who want to help them.

W.t>.

IJl'NA.\IlCS IN PSYCHIATRY. Edited by G. S.Phili/l/lopoulos. Basel and New York: S. Karger,1968.

Publish('d simultaneously as "Psychotherapy andPsychosomatics," Vol. 15 No. 2-4, this volume isdedicated to PlOfessor Kouretas, Professor and Chair­man, Dept. of Psychiatry, Athens University ~edical

School in Greece. Dr. Kouretas is apparently respon­sible for innovations in the teaching and training ofmedical students; only a few years ago the word~

"psychoanalysis" and "psychosomatics" were bannedfrom academic teaching. In addition, Dr. Kouretas hasdisplayed a keen interest in ancient Hellenic litera­ture. Armed with the insights of psychoanalysis, hehas made important contributions to the understand·ing of Greek tragedy and myth.

The volume consists of 17 contributions; of specialinterest to the readers of Psychosomatics are those by\1. Bleuler, O. S. English, D. Leigh, S. Lorand and\1. Prados.

meuler's paper deals with "Psychopathological Re­actions in Acute Somatic Distress." He reviews thedifferences in orientation of Kraepelin and Bonhoeffer.Kraepelin taught that any specific somatic troublocorresponded to a specific and unique psychopath.ological picture. Bonhoeffer's concept was quite dif­ferent; he denied this specificity. He described a')"acute exogenous reaction" and recognizes the im­portance of the pre-illness personality in the de­termination of the psvchological sequelae.

O. Spurgeon English considers "Education inMental Health Combined with Treatment of Psycho­somatic Illness." He notes that the general practi­tioner, the internist and other specialists have be­come more skilled in psychiatric diagnosis and therapy;ti,e psychiatrist, too, has regained a medical orienta­tion.

Dennis Leigh's contribution reviews the literature(JJl psychosomatic medicine. He speaks of the "dis­astrous split" between medicine and psychiatry in the

270

18th and early part of the 19th centuries. With the:Irrival of the scientific era, the care of the insanep:lssed into the hands of physicians who com:ernedthemselves exclusively with severe forms of mentalillness. The neurose.s and psychosomatic disorders,however, still remained within the province of therest of medicine. Dr. Leigh then considers the con­tributions of the pioneers in modern psychosomaticmedicine: Adler, Flanders Dunbar, Franz Alexander,Stanley Cobb, Harold Wolff and others. The con­tributions of the late Dr. Edward Weiss, who re­mained as an internist, and was truly a pioneer arenot mentioned. Nor are those by George Engel or I.Arthur Mirsky, both of whom are not psychiatrists.Dr. Leigh then considers the editorial policy of cur­rent journals in psychosomatic medicine; his pri­mary criticism lies in their orientation, in their indi­cation that the responsibility for further studies inthis field lies solely in the hands of the psychiatristand psychoanalyst. Here, too, there is a serious dele­tion in that a critique of Psychosomatics is not in­cluded, despite its attempt to convey the very view­point to which the author adhercs.

Sandor Lorand provides an excellent paper onthe "Clinical and Theoretical Aspects of Resistance."He points out, through illustrative case studies, thatresistant'e requires a flexible approach. At times theanalyst must become active espe~ially when thepatient remains mute. Some patients may have aneed to be understood without their use of wordsand must be "orally fed" through the analyst's talk­ing to them. Resistance in therapy, if overcome, willmake for therapeutic gains; if it is not overcome, it isrelated to therapeutic failure.

Prado's contribution, "Emotional Factors in theClimacterium in Women" points out that the in­volutional period of life, both for women as wellas men, can be a time of mature experiences andinner wisdom, provided the ego has been able toadapt successfully to earlier periods of the life cycle.Depression at this period of life may require psycho­ph:lrmacological agents or other somatic therapy.Yet in most cases a psychoanalytically oriented psv­chotherapy is exceedingly useful in helping to re­store emotional equilibrium.

Despite this reviewer's understandable and physio­logical ego depletion by Dennis Leigh's failure torecognize the role of the Academy and of Psycho­somatics in attempting to bridge the gap betweenmedicine and psychiatry, the book is highly recom­mended.

W.O.

Volume X

PSYCHOSOMATICS

can bl' identified as one who can face reality ratherthan resort to denial of his increasing problem.

The book has many illustrative case studies il­lustrating the various types of personalities and con­Aicts that can I('ad to alcohol addiction. Although ito(f('rs no panacea to the growing problem of alcohol­ism, it should prove to be helpful to both patientsas well as to the physicians who want to help them.

W.t>.

IJl'NA.\IlCS IN PSYCHIATRY. Edited by G. S.Phili/l/lopoulos. Basel and New York: S. Karger,1968.

Publish('d simultaneously as "Psychotherapy andPsychosomatics," Vol. 15 No. 2-4, this volume isdedicated to PlOfessor Kouretas, Professor and Chair­man, Dept. of Psychiatry, Athens University ~edical

School in Greece. Dr. Kouretas is apparently respon­sible for innovations in the teaching and training ofmedical students; only a few years ago the word~

"psychoanalysis" and "psychosomatics" were bannedfrom academic teaching. In addition, Dr. Kouretas hasdisplayed a keen interest in ancient Hellenic litera­ture. Armed with the insights of psychoanalysis, hehas made important contributions to the understand·ing of Greek tragedy and myth.

The volume consists of 17 contributions; of specialinterest to the readers of Psychosomatics are those by\1. Bleuler, O. S. English, D. Leigh, S. Lorand and\1. Prados.

meuler's paper deals with "Psychopathological Re­actions in Acute Somatic Distress." He reviews thedifferences in orientation of Kraepelin and Bonhoeffer.Kraepelin taught that any specific somatic troublocorresponded to a specific and unique psychopath.ological picture. Bonhoeffer's concept was quite dif­ferent; he denied this specificity. He described a')"acute exogenous reaction" and recognizes the im­portance of the pre-illness personality in the de­termination of the psvchological sequelae.

O. Spurgeon English considers "Education inMental Health Combined with Treatment of Psycho­somatic Illness." He notes that the general practi­tioner, the internist and other specialists have be­come more skilled in psychiatric diagnosis and therapy;ti,e psychiatrist, too, has regained a medical orienta­tion.

Dennis Leigh's contribution reviews the literature(JJl psychosomatic medicine. He speaks of the "dis­astrous split" between medicine and psychiatry in the

270

18th and early part of the 19th centuries. With the:Irrival of the scientific era, the care of the insanep:lssed into the hands of physicians who com:ernedthemselves exclusively with severe forms of mentalillness. The neurose.s and psychosomatic disorders,however, still remained within the province of therest of medicine. Dr. Leigh then considers the con­tributions of the pioneers in modern psychosomaticmedicine: Adler, Flanders Dunbar, Franz Alexander,Stanley Cobb, Harold Wolff and others. The con­tributions of the late Dr. Edward Weiss, who re­mained as an internist, and was truly a pioneer arenot mentioned. Nor are those by George Engel or I.Arthur Mirsky, both of whom are not psychiatrists.Dr. Leigh then considers the editorial policy of cur­rent journals in psychosomatic medicine; his pri­mary criticism lies in their orientation, in their indi­cation that the responsibility for further studies inthis field lies solely in the hands of the psychiatristand psychoanalyst. Here, too, there is a serious dele­tion in that a critique of Psychosomatics is not in­cluded, despite its attempt to convey the very view­point to which the author adhercs.

Sandor Lorand provides an excellent paper onthe "Clinical and Theoretical Aspects of Resistance."He points out, through illustrative case studies, thatresistant'e requires a flexible approach. At times theanalyst must become active espe~ially when thepatient remains mute. Some patients may have aneed to be understood without their use of wordsand must be "orally fed" through the analyst's talk­ing to them. Resistance in therapy, if overcome, willmake for therapeutic gains; if it is not overcome, it isrelated to therapeutic failure.

Prado's contribution, "Emotional Factors in theClimacterium in Women" points out that the in­volutional period of life, both for women as wellas men, can be a time of mature experiences andinner wisdom, provided the ego has been able toadapt successfully to earlier periods of the life cycle.Depression at this period of life may require psycho­ph:lrmacological agents or other somatic therapy.Yet in most cases a psychoanalytically oriented psv­chotherapy is exceedingly useful in helping to re­store emotional equilibrium.

Despite this reviewer's understandable and physio­logical ego depletion by Dennis Leigh's failure torecognize the role of the Academy and of Psycho­somatics in attempting to bridge the gap betweenmedicine and psychiatry, the book is highly recom­mended.

W.O.

Volume X