Intricate Engagements

In this fine book, Dr. Steven A. Frankel paints the portraits of his collaborating patients vividly, graphically and with consummate compassion. Treatment for Frankel is never a discussion and surely not one filled with the therapist''s abstinence; it is a vital, interactive and changing experience for both partners. He is no less skillful in engaging and educating the reader. His review of psychoanalytic theories and research is, in itself, a prodigious and productive education. It is tempting to suggest that this important contribution to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy is one illustration of theory finally catching up to sensitive and effective practice. Frankel closes his lovely book with thanks to the reader ''for coming on this part of my journey.'' Shirley Cooper, LCSW