This book presents a wide range of material on the mental health of older people from a psychodynamic perspective. It provides information about the lives and theories of major psychoanalytic and psychodynamic thinkers and considers the application of their ideas to the understanding of later life. Psychodynamics is discussed in relation to work with patients as well as in relation to staff. Many apposite case illustrations are included. The book contains chapters about a range of methods of working psychotherapeutically with people with and without dementia, including not only one-to-one, family and group talking therapies but also expressive approaches using other media for communication.

The amazing breadth of this book may be seen as both its strength and its weakness. On the one hand it provides a stimulating cocktail, but on the other this detracts from a clear focus. Those who might buy the book for its subtitle could be disappointed to find that this is not a guide on ‘how to do’ psychotherapy: although the excellent chapter on brief therapy does provide some nitty-gritty advice and those on bereavement and sexuality give interesting clinical accounts and reflections. Neither is the book narrowly psychodynamically centred. Many chapters take this perspective but others take a more general psychotherapeutic approach. While providing a personal slant, the biographical information given about many of the key figures is not analysed for its impact on their theoretical position, and its relevance to the text is therefore questionable.

Rather than being a manual or guide, this is a pot-pourri of writings that will stimulate the reader to reconsider issues they encounter in their everyday work. It provides useful summaries of the thinking of eminent psychodynamic psychotherapists. Among many riches, the chapter on loneliness from a Kleinian perspective is a good example, and later in the book there is fascinating material about Kohut's thinking on narcissism. The information given about creative therapies may be novel to many working in psychiatry and could inform service development. The description of art therapy includes a moving case example and is a good illustration of the power of non-verbal media. Above all, this book will provoke readers to think with curiosity about their patients, themselves and their teams. We are challenged to consider our own position and resistances to developing better psychotherapeutic work with older people.