Book Review: The Art of the Obvious: developing insight for psychotherapy and everyday life

The Art of the Obvious: developing insight for psychotherapy and everyday life by Bruno Bettelheim and Alvin A. Rosenfeld, Thames and Hudson, London (1993) 247pp.

Between 1977 and 1982 Bruno Bettelheim and Alvin Rosenfeld conducted weekly seminars for students in child and adult psychiatry, psychology and social work. This extraordinary text is a distillation of the essence of these seminars in a manner that is straightforwardly

personal and bereft of much that might otherwise seek to mystify or obscure the process of psychotherapy. Indeed, more than seminars, the exchanges seemed to me to be akin to the kind of supervision sessions that, as a phenomenologically-oriented supervisor, I would myself seek to emulate in that they take their principal focus to be the therapist/supervisee's experience of the therapeutic process and which seek to expose the biases and assumptions that are themselves the principal obstructions to an empathic encounter with one's client and, as well, which can (often) provide deceitful 'explanations' for the client's unacceptable behaviour.

Throughout the text, Bruno Bettelheim (or 'Dr B' as he is often referred to) impresses the reader with his insight, humour, clarity of thought and refreshing candour. Having read, and appreciated a number of his other texts, I was, nevertheless, unprepared for the wisdom which permeates throughout this book. As cantankerous, opinionated, and difficult as he probably was (and this text provides numerous examples to suggest this), his knowledge and insight into the therapeutic encounter is breathtaking. Chapter One's dissection of the first encounter, for instance, is one of the finest expositions that I have ever read of the many unacknowledged biases and 'false assumptions' that a therapist is likely to bring into the process.

While most of the discussions focus on issues directly relevant to analysis with deeply disturbed children, they are deeply relevant to therapeutic encounters with all clients regardless of age or degree of disturbance. Similarly, while Bettelheim stands as a major proponent of psychoanalytic theory and practice, there is little that existentially-oriented therapists would not find themselves in disagreement with. As Rosenfeld states in his moving epilogue:

At the time Bruno Bettelheim and I were engaged in editing the transcripts that eventually became this book we gave it the working title "In the Shoes of a Stranger." The title reflected the central message we wished to convey: that for a therapist, empathy is the most crucial working tool. In the course of editing the book after Dr B.'s death, however, I came to perceive a more general-, and perhaps even more valuable, sort of understanding that this extraordinary teacher sought to pass on to a new generation - what he called, With a kind of sly understatement, 'the art of the obvious." By this he meant the art of seeing clearly what is there to be seen, rather than imposing on it one's own presuppositions and prejudices.... In actuality, "the art of the obvious" implies that for the psychotherapist to see what-at is there in front of him requires more than empathy and emotional

receptivity; it calls for humility, patience a reflective attitude and long study to master both theory and technique.

(pp231-2)

In spite of some reservations and disagreements (particularly with certain aspects of the chapter focusing on transference and counter-transference), overall I was amazed, amused, moved, enlightened and pushed by this book. It struck deep chords within me not only as a practising therapist and teacher but as a human being. I know that I will return to it many times and that I will certainly put it on reading lists for my students.

I unreservedly recommend it to all readers of this Journal, and especially to those who practice psychotherapy from a phenomenological-existential standpoint.

Ernesto Spinelli