Behaviour therapy in relation to contemporary psychotherapy.

AT THE END of the 1950's two books appeared, the first by 1 Wolpe (1958), a psychiatrist practising in South Africa, and the second, two years later, edited by Eysenck (1960) professor of psychology at the Maudsley Hospital. These books, publicizing for the first time the possibility of treating the neuroses on a basis of scientific discovery and experimentation, aroused considerable enthusiasm. A leading article appeared in The Lancet entitled " Pavlov or Freud?" quoting Eysenck's view that learning theory offered an aetiological explanation and method of treatment which could supplant psycho-analysis. In 1963 a new journal Behaviour Research and Therapy devoted entirely to this subject was founded. The origin of contemporary psychotherapy can be traced to Breuer's observation that hysterical symptoms could be relieved by making the patient re-experience, under hypnosis, painful memories and feelings that had been forgotten. From this, through the genius of Freud, stemmed the remarkable flow of observations and deductions which resulted in psycho-analysis as a systematic description of the effects of family and community life upon man's behaviour. But while psycho-analysis as a system of thought was gaining acceptance throughout Western culture, pessimism over its therapeutic effectiveness began increasingly to be voiced. It was the tragedy of psycho-analysis that this pessimism did not encourage further experiment. Two factors prevented this. First, as results of shorter treatment disappointed, individual analyses were extended until they came to be measured in years rather than in months. Secondly, the closed nature of the psycho-analytical circle which limited its membership to those who had themselves undergone this time-consuming and expensive procedure prevented the infusion of fresh ideas from without. It produced by its own conditioning process such a-stultification within the hierarchy that those who by their dissatisfaction were drawn to more radical experiment were almost always forced to leave the society. Simultaneously, a separate discipline of mental processes was