In the third edition of Storr’s The Art of Psychotherapy, Jeremy Holmes seeks to bring this 1979 classic up to date for the modern practitioner. Included in several additional chapters are a revised section on the classification of personality types and a chapter on the science of psychotherapy. Despite some sizeable additions to the text, Holmes manages to retain the original spirit of the book and his admiration for Anthony Storr’s work is clear from the beginning.

The Art of Psychotherapy sets out to de-mystify the process of psychodynamic psychotherapy and takes a very practical approach to answering the question ‘What does a psychotherapist actually do?’ The initial few chapters focus on the beginnings of therapy and I was delighted to see the book address a list of nervously posed questions that I once asked myself when starting my first psychodynamic case: ‘Am I supposed to make “interpretations”? If so, what exactly is “an interpretation”, and how does one make one?’ One of the strengths of this book is the way in which it meets with the reader’s everyday concerns.

The middle section deals with important areas such as transference and counter-transference, interpretation and the therapeutic relationship. These chapters are punctuated with case material which allows the reader to visualise something of therapeutic process taking place within the consulting room.

In a welcomed chapter on dreams, Holmes correctly asserts that it can be rather ‘alarming’ for psychotherapists in training when a client discusses a dream. This chapter does much to assuage these fears in setting out some very clear advice. The revised sections on depression, anxiety and patterns of personality, although certainly interesting and readable, felt perhaps a little less practical than the previous chapters. That said, one of the final chapters, ‘The end of therapy’, does provide useful insights on what a ‘good’ client outcome may look like and offers strategies for meeting with issues that can sometimes arise in the ‘ending’.

This book is concise, practical and written in an accessible and dynamic way. As such, it would appeal to anyone interested in psychotherapy, but may be especially useful as an introductory text to core trainees and higher trainees undertaking psychodynamic cases.