Jason Aronson This 258-page book, by two therapists, deals with the varieties of deception in psychotherapy. At the beginning, the authors state their underlying message that the therapist must maintain a healthy degree of skepticism about what clients say in treatment. The book addresses all types of deception and numerous clinical cases are used to illustrate their points. The book ends with a short index and a short set of references (mainly psychoanalytic). They discuss the intentional omission of important family history and note that omissions are a form of deception, similar but somewhat different from lies. They coin the term, "extraclinical gullibility," and note that some therapists may be naive and gullible because they have special knowledge about what goes on in others' minds. The authors stress that lies should be dealt with in therapy as soon as they are stated and note that therapists should "suspend automatic trust" in their clients. The book also discusses supervisor's problems, the false memory syndrome, impostors, men masquerading as women, and transference. The book provides an interesting discussion of a common problem in psychotherapy. Reviewed by LeRoy G. Schultz, Emeritus Professor, West Virginia University.
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