Psychoanalysts must be patients for years before they can practice. The "talking cure"–the basis of all psychotherapy–is best explained from two perspectives: one patient lying on the couch and the other seated behind it. The author of this memoir was both. He candidly discusses his own analysis, describing his emotional misfires and their causes. He then uses case studies from his practice to elucidate the meaning of dreams, the causes of neuroses, depression, relationship problems and other issues that affect the lives of many.