Time, Experience and Behaviour

major shifts of behavior patterns can occur in the same patient according to different times and circumstances. The sections on "neurosis" are particularly dated and misleading, with "hysteria" being used in conjunction with many different syndromes and behavior patterns, according to the classical oedipal-hysterical equation. The chapter on "Adulthood" deals well with earlier years but middle age is really ignored. The coverage of "Aging and Old Age" is excellent. This book's primary value is in its all-too-brief presentation of "Medical Psychotherapy"-that treatment approach by the non-psychiatrist which attempts ". . . to help a patient, within the given framework of his existing personality structure, enabling him to find and follow the ways by which he can function more satisfactorily and gain increasing security . . . this principle of therapeutic manipulation refers to the process that attempts to make better use of a patient's adaptive potentialities, and tries to achieve this with his cooperation and understanding . . ." (pp. 233-34). Finally, because it highlights the doctor's reactions to his patient as a factor in the medical care process, this slim volume is well worth including in the medical student's reading requirements, particularly in association with his first clinical experiences.