Frank Gerbode’s Beyond Psychology is the fourth edition of the original book published in 1988, and hence, a sort of twenty-fifth anniversary edition that is a testament to the power of metapsychology. While I had not read earlier editions of the book, I am familiar with metapsychology from books by Victor Volkman and Marian Volkman, who are among those Gerbode thanks for their work in raising awareness of metapsychology. In the “Preface to the Fourth Edition,” Gerbode briefly describes some of the changes from previous editions, due to new knowledge, and especially expansions of chapters two, three, four and the General Curriculum in chapter nine.

I expected Beyond Psychology to be a book about how to move oneself past traumatic incidents and other issues or events that block people from having normal or happy lives, including traumatic events like car accidents, relationship conflicts, or work-related stress. That information is included in great detail in the last section of the book, but first Gerbode takes the reader on an extensive tour of how the mind operates, how a person conceives of reality, and what is true for the individual according to his personal experiences.

While I felt Gerbode’s opening two chapters were overly detailed and repetitive, causing me to feel impatient, Gerbode later justifies this degree of detail by stating that “It is not possible to either address or understand disabilities without first understanding the corresponding abilities.The practice of psychotherapy has often tried to talk about mental ‘diseases’ and ‘disorders’, without really defining clearly what constitutes a desirable mental condition.” I can’t fault Gerbode for wanting to be clear on this point, but I would suggest that if readers find themselves impatient like me, they just skim and then skip ahead to chapter three. If you miss something you need later, you can always refer to the extensive glossary. While the rest of the book is also somewhat dense, it is easier to read from that point on.