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The following examples give some idea of the type of material suggested as alternative strategies. The first is a method suggested for increasing a t tent iveness and decreasing with- drawal. It is a s tandard procedure well known to most teachers . " T h e teacher should allow the child to use his interests in class by giving a report or doing tasks related to them. • . . For example , a youngs ter who loves horses may be asked to draw and label all parts of a horse, thereby learning physiology and a n a t o m y " (p. 22).

Another strategy for increasing a t tent iveness and decreasing withdrawal sugges ts that " I f the youngs ter daydreams , the teacher should avoid suggest ing that daydreaming is unnatural or bad. He could say to the class "Dayd reami ng is a necessa ry part of life. We all do it somet imes . This is how we learn to make plans about what we'l l do in the fu ture" (p. 23). The children are then given t ime to put their heads down and jus t daydream, after which they write down their thoughts or share them with the class.

A strategy that perhaps is more controversial is described in the chapter fostering Stu- den t -Teacher Relationship. The authors discuss the children who may not have had a warm personal relationship with an adult outside of, or even, within their own family and who may not only be aloof but may also show a sense of distrust. " T o establish that the teacher is open and interested in these youngs ters , one approach is for the teacher to talk to the class about himself, his family, and his home life. He should encourage all of the children to ask quest ions ("All the quest ions you can think of") and then try to have all the children raise a quest ion . . . . We ask a lot of quest ions because we are interested in finding out about people we l ike" (p. 52). Following this " T h e chi ldren can write their own stories focusing upon themselves . . . and the teacher can use this information to estab- lish his desire to know the child. The teacher can indicate that ' I ' m going to think of some quest ions to ask about you jus t like the quest ions the class asked about m e ' " (p. 520).

This suggest ion seems fraught with peril in two areas• The first is that there are ques- tions a child might ask that the teacher might not want to answer , yet rightly should answer ff he has set the stage as outlined above. The second is the fear that some children might have that they will be asked quest ions they do not want to answer. Many children do not wish to share facts about their homes and families in front of a class or even with a warm sympathet ic teacher.

As may be seen f rom the foregoing, the book contains a variety of strategies that will help a teacher with certain kinds of problems in the class room. The failure of the authors to offer an integrating theory for the use of the strategies suggested limits the usefu lness of the book. No book can be all things to all people, however , and the au thors do warn that theirs is a pragmatic approach. Those who are familiar with teaching will know that many of these ideas will work, and many beginning and exper ienced teachers will be happy to find some new suggest ions that they can use in their daily routines. Psychologis ts may find this book less than sat isfactory because of the lack of clear-cut research evidence and be- cause of the absence of an underlying theoretical explanat ion for why the strategies do or should work, and for why these strategies were suggested and not others.

J U L I A R . V A N E Department of Psychology Hofstra University Hempstead, NY I1550

LAZARUS, A. , & FAY, A. I Can if I Want To. New York: William Morrow and Com- pany, 1975. 118 Pp. $5.95.

In my almost daily search for bibliotherapeutic sources , this book represents a welcome addition. It is jus t the type of book I am constant ly on the lookout for, but rarely find.

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The book's format is simple and readable for clients: (1) First, one of the 20 common mistakes is identified. (2) A brief case example is given to illustrate the mistake. (3) For each mistake, four or five faulty assumptions that underlie the mistake are

listed. (4) Finally, a program for change is outlined. This final "How to Change" section has

a twofold approach for combating the mistake(s), i.e., it includes a list of ideas to help in changing your thinking as well as another list of corrective behaviors to practice.

The book serves to support the authors' multimodal viewpoint (Lazarus, 1973) in that a variety of procedures are used. Some of the "BASIC ID" techniques cited (in layman's lan- guage in the book) are assertive training and behavioral rehearsal (Behavior); fight therapy (Affect); directed muscular activity (Sensation); thought stopping (Imagery); problem- solving, decision making, covert rehearsal, and shame exercises (Cognition); self- disclosure procedures (Interpersonal relationships); and a section on medication (Drugs). The focus of the book is, nevertheless, on the cognitive mode ("rethinking") and then the behavioral zone strategies necessary in order to implement change. Some of the problem areas include anxiety, depression, compulsions, marital discord, obesity, inhibition, and so forth. But the more important consideration is the fact that some of these mistaken ideas are present in all of us. Therefore, whether one is considering the treatment of a client's pathology, the irrational ideas of oneself (therapist), or the general misconceptions of the person in the street, there is something here for everyone.

This self-help workbook has periodic admonitions to get on with it. For example, "Re- minder," "Read This Now." As a matter of fact, in the "Getting Started" chapter the authors insist that "you purchase a pocket-size notebook in which you can record and tally the various reactions and interactions to which your attention will be drawn. We would almost go so far as to say "No notebook--no change." Despite my own on-going attempts at reducing "musturbation" (an Ellis term), I still musturbate enough to respond to such statements and felt that I must get my pocket notebook before reading on. For this book to work effectively, the person needs to feel this way or otherwise one might zip through the book and not work on self-sentences and practice the behavioral changes for the selected mistaken ideas. For many persons the book will need to be more programmed (a function of the therapist) in order to help the person focus on the ideas needing work. A useful procedure might be to use a list of the 20 mistaken beliefs and either have the client select one or two to work on with the use of the book, or have them read the entire book (it would take a couple of hours) and then choose the one area to work on. For example, mistake #4 ("Your life is basically controlled by outside forces") could be concentrated on for awhile before moving to additional ideas.

With regard to the basic approach of mistakes as a focus for the book, I would have pre- ferred it if the authors had taken the same stance as one of them did in Behavior Therapy and Beyond (Lazarus, 1971) in which he rephrased Ellis' 11 irrational ideas (Ellis, 1962) in positive terms. This process would be similar to my rephrasing of Hauck's (1972) errone- ous beliefs of child management (e.g., Error #6, "Praise spoils a child") by changing the wording to the more positive statement for the person to internalize. That is, "Praise reaps benefits for both parent and child." (Keat, 1974) Although identification of the faulty thinking may be the first step in self-help or the task of the therapist, the next step is to help the person generate self-sentences for internalization which are positive. For ex- ample, mistake # 1 changes from "Don' t make mistakes" to something like "It 's O.K. to make mistakes. I 'm a fallible human being." This task can be done by the therapist for the client; but if certain clients are going to use this self-help book, it would be beneficial to have it more clearly and consistently programmed by generating positive statements and clearly identifying them as new self-sentences. This rephrasing is done for only a few sen- tences. For example, mistake #10 ("You must earn happiness") becomes "You are enti- tled to do whatsoever pleases you, provided you do not harm anyone else in the process."

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Mistake #11 ("Play it safe. Don't take risks.") can become "Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' '

This emphasis on the negative even pervades the notebook assignments. A more posi- tive outlook, and one only sometimes used in the book, would be to use the notebook to record positive attempts at change rather than primarily baseline mistakes. For example, instead of recording when you are "less assertive than you might have been," note the number of times you behaved assertively in an appropriate way. The basic behavioral prem- ise which uses the old song "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative" would thus be followed.

One of the real tests for a book is its range of usefulness. This particular manual is meant for youth (age 18 on) and adults. For these ages it would seem to be an excellent book. Al- most everyone in this age group (18 on) could find something to work on. In my own pri- vate practice I'm starting to use it for bibliotherapy for some parents in place of the Guide. It is more explicit in the area of behavioral change than the Ellis and Harper (1961) book. I 've even been using it with some early adolescents during therapy sessions. At this age range (e.g., with one 13-yr old) it takes an adaptation of the book. For example, mistake #6 ("Let your anger out") becomes "Learn when and how to express your anger in an acceptable manner." Then the therapist can use age appropriate examples, self-disclosure, assertive training, and directed muscular activity adapted for the particular age level. In addition, I plan to use this for therapists-in-training and other similar graduate school stu- dents. The potential market, however, is much broader and could include most literate persons in late adolescence (e.g., college students) and adults.

I Can i f l Want To is a welcome addition to my bibliotherapeutic list. It now ranks at the top for use with youth and adults. Personally, I 've got the book in my right suit pocket and the notebook in my left pocket. I 've identified five mistaken ideas to work on and have rank-ordered them for attack. Mistaken ideas #1 ("Don' t make mistakes"), #2 ("Try to be good at everything"), #14 ("Strive for perfection"), and #18 ("Performing well is im- portant for fulfillment") cluster together for me. In addition, #12 (rephrased "No man is an island") needs some rethinking and corrective behavior. Almost everyone can use this book, if they want to.

REFERENCES Ellis, A. Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. New York: Lyle Stuart, 1962. Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. A guide to rational living. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-

tice Hall, 1961. Hauck, P. A. The rational management o f children. Roslyn Heights, NY: Libra, 1972. Keat, D. B. Fundamentals o f child counseling (Instructor's Manual). Boston: Houghton

Mifflin, 1974. Lazarus, A. A. Behavior therapy and beyond. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971. Lazarus, A. A. Multimodal behavior therapy: Treating the "BASIC ID." Journal o f

Nervous and Mental Disease, 1973, 156, 404--411.

DONALD B. KEAT II The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802