Journal of a Psychoanalysis

This intimate account of a successful analysis illustrates the innovative approach of the analyst, Paul Diel. The anonymous author of the journal was a forty-year-old man beset by anxiety and obsessed with his failures, resentments, fantasies, and disappointments. He was drawn to Diel's method of psychotherapy because of its focus on distorted motivations as the root of emotional disturbance.

Diel saw neurosis as arising from the individual's transformation of every feeling into morbid resentment, imaginary humiliations and victories, feelings of superiority and inferiority, shame at others' opinions, excessive self-justification and self-blame, emotional complaints, and vindictive criticism. Diel's patient unravels the tangle of these negative states in his diary as he recounts his life, faces his inner conflicts, and reflects on his therapy sessions. Through the process of honest and courageous self-examination, he succeeds in discovering the guiding principles that lead him to a more balanced life and happier relationships. Paul Diel's Introduction and Epilogue shed further light on this therapeutic process.

Paul Diel (1893?1972) was a French psychologist of Australian origins. Building on the work of Freud, Adler, and Jung, he developed an original technique of introspection and analysis designed to expose the secret inner motivations that influence behavior. His contemporaries, notably Albert Einstein, recognized him for his penetrating moral vision as well as his scientific rigor. In France, a group of physicians, psychologists, and educators—called the Association de la Psychologie de la Motivation—is devoted to the study and transmission of Diel's work.

Other books by Paul Diel in English translation are The Psychology of Motivation, Symbolism in Greek Mythology, and The God-Symbol.