The Intimacy and Solitude Self-Therapy Book

Dowrick ( Intimacy and Solitude ), an Australian psychotherapist, proposes the use of ``active meditation'' in the practice of self-therapy. In a sensitive, non-formulaic approach, she suggests that readers take guided journeys inward, employing imaging, journal keeping, drawing and controlled breathing techniques. Calling on many traditions--Freud, Jung, Quakers, Buddhists and schools of contemporary psychotherapy--she offers a wealth of exercises and practices for readers seeking greater understanding of themselves and others. Dowrick's clear prose and encouraging tone combine with concrete suggestions to back up her assertion that we can change for the better ``through increasingly close encounters'' with our individual selves. (Aug.)