Intricate Engagements

Stephen A. Frankel, M.D., has written, taught, and consulted extensively in the areas of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and child development. A graduate of Yale Medical School, he was an NIMH research fellow at Stanford University Medical School and trained in general and child psychiatry at Mt. Zion Hospital and Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Frankel completed his psychoanalytic training in San Francisco, is on the faculty of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, and is an associate clinical professor at the University of California Medical School. He maintains a private practice in Kentfield, California where he treats adults and children.

In this fine book, Dr. 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.' My response: 'Please add further trips and invite me along!'