"The writing is clear and clean....That this excellence is maintained throughout a book by three different authors is a tribute to the quality of the collaboration. Difficult concepts are explained well and in depth, but without oversimplification. Clinical examples are used copiously throughout and invariably richly illustrate the point under discussion while avoiding extraneous details. The organization of the book is outstanding. Chapters end with a summary of a paragraph or two detailing the key points covered in the main text. The flow from chapter to chapter is smooth, but each chapter stands on its own and can be consulted beneficially if the reader has a specific question....A particular strength (and remarkable achievement) of the book is that it offers something for everyone, from the novice to the highly experienced. Complicated issues, which would challenge the most experienced of group therapists, are also extensively discussed. Working with patients with difficult character disorders is examined at length and illustrated by many helpful clinical examples. Dealing with the disruptive group member, always a challenge, is covered....There is no doubt that the fourth edition of Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy by Rutan, Stone, and Shay is an essential part of the library of every group psychotherapist. This is an excellent book."--International Journal of Group Psychotherapy

J. Scott Rutan, PhD, is a past president and Distinguished Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. He founded the Center for Group Psychotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a cofounder of the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy. Having left his long-time position on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Rutan is now a senior faculty member at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy.

Walter N. Stone, MD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Currently, he is a clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a Distinguished Fellow and past president of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and past chair of the Group Psychotherapy Foundation. Dr. Stone's broad-ranging interests in group psychotherapy include the application of self psychology and dynamic treatment of chronically mentally ill persons. He has published more than 50 articles, book chapters, and books relevant to group training, dynamics, and psychotherapy, including Group Psychotherapy for People with Chronic Mental Illness.

Joseph J. Shay, PhD, is on the staff of the joint McLean Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital training program and is an instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Formerly, he was the director of psychological services and training at a private treatment clinic in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Shay has published numerous articles and book chapters and has coedited, with Joan Wheelis, Odysseys in Psychotherapy and, with Lise Motherwell, Complex Dilemmas in Group Therapy.