This spitited study of marriage counseling, although intricate and brambly with technical terms, is well worth the concentration demanded. Breaking free of the current tendency of so many connubial troubleshooters to regard the married state as a comfortable and/or uncomfortable third entity, with partners existing to "contribute to the Relationship, " the authors stress the developmental opportunities in the individual life cycles of husband and wife. Marriage offers growth potential, and the post-Freudian interpretation of developmental stages are outlined: ego development and object relations, with particular attention to the symbiotic phase, internalization, separation-dependency, etc., oral, anal, phallic and genital stages. Often partners have reached different stages of development, and it is the counselor's directive to help the patient to approach the next level. Sexual incompatibility is merely a symptom of a general disorder. The question is not: "Are you satisfied?" but "What is satisfied?" Several case histories are used for illustration throughout. A fluid and flexible view for the well-informed reader with some background in psycho-analytical patois. (Kirkus Reviews)