Emotional Problems of Living
- Author:
Spurgeon
English, M.D., and Gerald H. J. Pearson, M.D. Geo. Allen & Unwin. 1947. pp. 438. 16s.
This book is apparently a sequel to an earlier publication on Common Neuroses of Adults and Children. It purports to uncover the sources of neurotic behaviour so that ” we may learn to avoid destructive emotional conflicts and is based on the Freudian concept of character formation. Much of it is addressed to young physicians and students, but it is meant also for the laity. And, on the whole, the authors live up to the publishers’ specifications.
There is, however, a certain elusiveness about the Freudian presentation. The references to ” transference ” are somewhat evasive and the account of the unconscious could have been more adequate. The Oedipus Complex, in particular, is dealt with in a superficial manner. The authors apparently believe that neuroses are becoming rarer and that their place has been taken by ” character-neuroses In this connection they quote the view that the alleged change in clinical manifestations is due to a change in parental attitudes from over-severity to over-indulgence. This is a questionable proposition which is in any case contradicted by their own observations of environmental influences.
The bulk of the book deals with the development of the personality during the successive periods of life up to maturity. And so long as the authors deal with infancy and early childhood, they take a sensible enough standpoint, allowing for a little overstress of environmental factors. Their view of American parents may, however, be true; what they relate of maternal callousness, cruelty, crazy fastidiousness, nagging, superstition and neglect of sexual instruction, certainly sounds Early Victorian.
When, however, they come to consider the later phases of childhood and youth, sexuality and marriage problems, the authors’ views become just a little flatulent, as indeed do the views of most clinical psychologists when dealing with the everyday problems of adult life. As far as middle and old age is concerned, the position seems to be that the American has made his pile at 50 or 55 but doesn’t know what to do with himself. He then talks too much, becomes a nuisance to his family and may have to be sent to an institution. Here doctors can help the family over any little hesitations, etc.
There is a curious section on the method of taking case histories, and it is not altogether a coincidence that the style of the book itself is unnecessarily prolix. Nevertheless, and despite the above comments, it is a good book of its kind, more suitable perhaps for the lay worker than the psychiatric student. Considering the number of unsatisfactory text books on characterology and the general haziness regarding psychological principles which characterizes them, this is high praise. E.G.
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