The Integrity of the Personality (Pelican) - Softcover

This first book by the author of Solitude has been long out of print. Examining the basic assumptions of his profession, psychotherapist Storr argues that the essential goal of man is self-realization, the drive toward maturity that is inextricably linked with "the development of his relationship with others," and that the purpose of psychotherapy is to further that development in collaboration with the therapist. Although his own training is Jungian, Storr is remarkably candid in conceding that Freudian and Kleinian analysts achieve roughly the same degree of success. But too much of the book is given over to unstartling pronouncements, such as his proclamation that immature parents generally raise immature children, or to dry reiteration of post-Freudian commonplaces. Moreover, Storr's analysis of homosexuality as "a failure of maturation" has long since been superseded by other views. The same might be said of some of his observations about the etiology of schizophrenia. Finally, although the introductory chapters are lucid and crisp, the bulk of the book is written in an academic style that wears out its welcome in a few pages.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.