Psychotherapy

This work presents psychotherapy as the deliberate treatment of illness by influencing mental life, distinguishes it from psychiatric care, and roots practice in psychological and brain-based theory. It outlines theoretical foundations including suggestion, hypnotism, and the subconscious, then turns to practical matters: the scope of psychotherapeutic application, general and special methods, and the assessment of mental and bodily symptoms amenable to mental treatment. It further examines the relationship of psychotherapeutic practice to religious institutions, physicians, and the wider community, arguing for systematic scientific study and formal psychological training in medical education while warning against uncritical mysticism and amateur practice.