More than 700 dream symbols are defined in a separate 100-page section.

    Written in a concise style which is knowledgeable, yet not overly-academic. The questions addressed are the most common and modern questions popularly asked.

    Why do some people still choose psychoanalysis -- Freud's so-called talking cure -- when numerous medications are available that treat the symptoms of psychic distress so much faster? Roudinesco tackles this difficult question, exploring what she sees as a "depressive society" an epidemic of distress being addressed only by an increasing reliance on prescription drugs.