January 31, 2000
In this book, Bucay employs the technique of writing fictional letters to a colleague to explain the fundamental concepts of gestalt psychotherapy. Born in Argentina, Bucay is a licensed doctor and psychotherapist who has written several books on the topic. This technique is supposed to strike an informal, casual tone, but it doesn't work for a reader new to the topic. Also, if the letters are the equivalent of chapters, there is no clear organization or outline. Instead, they move back and forth between topics, leaving the reader confused and constantly referring back to previous letters to try to find earlier references to a concept and trying to tie it to the new concept. Bucay used the same approach successfully in Amarse con los ojos abiertos (To Love with Your Eyes Open, Criticas, Spring 2001), but here the reader needs more than a basic understanding of psychotherapy to appreciate the approach. This is the third edition of the title; the first was self-published in 1986. Recommended for academic and large public libraries with interest in collecting in this subject area. Yolanda J. Cuesta, Cuesta MultiCultural Consulting, Sacramento, CA