Close Encounters

THE VISCOTT METHOD; A REVOLUTIONARY PROGRAM FOR SELF-ANALYSIS AND SELF-UNDERSTANDING By David Viscott '59, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, 1984. 169 pp., $15.95.

There are many varieties of psychotherapy. What they have in common is a caring relationship between a person who feels troubled and someone that person trusts to help them. One variety of therapy may look for childhood experiences hidden in the unconscious mind, another may focus on present behavior that needs changing. Emphasis may be placed on understanding, on feelings, or on a magical blend of both. It is, however, the therapeutic relationship which is paramount. So what is one to make of a do-it-yourself psychotherapy book? What it may prove is that the therapeutic relationship is valid whether it is established through $85 an-hour face to face encounters in an office one to three times a week, or through a $15.95 book with a smiling picture of a handsome, hairy chested psychiatrist on the jacket a book that gives detailed directions from him that reflect his life style, philosophy, goals, and values.

Dr. David Viscott has developed his own method, which reflects his life ex- perience. The introduction is titled "To Those Seeking Happiness." In it he says "Every emotion must run its course. Each loss must bear its hurt. Every anger must find its peace. ... In this book I will show you how to resolve your life's pain so that you can experience its joy and pleasure fully. ... Its object is to make you free." It is interesting fo find a section on "The Meaning of Life."

Dr.Viscott believes in doing: he writes, "The acts you perform, whether or not you receive recognition for them, are your monument." He believes in the interconnectedness of all humans and in the view that life has meaning through sharing. In his final section he says, "Getting what you want requires that you give all you can. . .and if you love yourself, you can love others." I am reminded of Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving, and I'm OK, You're OK by Harris.

If this kind of happiness and sense of fulfillment, this kind of faith that life will get better, is what you're aiming for, be prepared for a lot of hard work. You will spend many hours taking an exhaustive inventory and developing an Action Board that helps you do what you see you need to do in order to live freely. You need a tape recorder, notebook, and hundreds of 3 by 5 cards. You then respond to the many questions Dr. Viscott asks, making tapes on life history,feelings, and new plans. The questions reflect, I think, the personality of the "writer therapist" and perhaps, the social class of his patients. The masculine pronoun is used. In examples of a good life 10 years in the future one wakes in bed with another, is congratulated for an acceptance speech, wanders through a home with several rooms, goes to the office, and has a luncheon engagement.

Since people who live such lives usually have insurance that covers in person psychotherapy, this reviewer is left with the question of whether many people will spend the time and effort to make the best use of the book. The 50 minute hour with the therapist present is certainly much more costly, but it might in the end be essential to getting the work done.

Dr. Nye is an assistant professor of clinicalpsychiatry at the Dartmouth Medical School.