cover image Jrnl of Psychoanalys

Jrnl of Psychoanalys

Paul Diel. Shambhala Publications, $30 (236pp) ISBN 978-0-87773-370-6

For this Austrian-born French psychologist, warped motivations shaped by an individual's striving for status, money and power are at the heart of neurosis. Mentally unhealthy people, according to Diel (1893-1972), thinly conceal a tangle of resentments that surface in grudges, self-pity, triumphant stances, obsessions, daydreams, excessive hates. The road to cure lies in seeing through society's false values and understanding the source of one's low self-esteem. The diary reproduced here was kept by a 40-year-old patient of Diel. This man came to see his conflicts with co-workers, failure in business and sexual adventures as the result of his feelings of worthlessness. Diel's commentary illuminates the journal entries. A psychologist who insisted that adjusting to a sick society does not make one well, Diel is a relevant thinker for our time. (December)