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The Fifty-Minute Hour
“A fascinating mixture of traditional psychoanalytic thinking with clinical strategies that even today would be considered creative and controversial, The Fifty-Minute Hour has never failed to capture the imagination. . . . No student’s education in psychotherapy is complete without reading this book. Decades after its original publication, it still stands as a pioneering landmark in the history of psychotherapy.”-John Suler
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
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October 17, 2007linder is kind of arrogant, and this book reeks of all the stereotypes of psychoanalysis that i rebel against. however. i do want to finish it - i might skip ahead of the first case study that is driving me crazy and move on to another one, but i think i'll take a break and deal with another therapist first.
September 11, 2009
What to say about this book....first off I enjoyed it. It is a book where the author (a psychoanalyst in the pure Freudian approach) shares five case studies. If you enjoy some of what Freud threw out there, then you will enjoy this book. I find it interesting the way analysts can find meaning in everything, even the hidden meanings, even if I don't agree with it all. The author writes well, he is descriptive enough that you seem to have a full understanding of each case. He is willing to admit when he is wrong so it doesn't read like an expert trying to convince one of the benefits of psychoanalysis. Overall I enjoyed it. From a voyeuristic perspective it was fun to read about some difficult clients and how the author worked with each one. If you are not a fan of Freudian techniques then this is not the book for you. If you can enjoy dream analysis, problems with parents and sexuality, then you may find this to be a fun read.
April 10, 2010
I found this book fascinating because I'm fascinated by psychoanalysis. The book was similar to "Love's Executioner" by Yalom -- a series of short "stories" about the psychoanalyst-turned-author's most interesting cases. This book was a little more interesting than Yalom's because it had to do with cases Lindner had while he was working as a prison psychiatrist but I thought Yalom's was better written. Of course, the common link between both of them is the sometimes patronizing tone of voice that comes across... I guess psychoanalysts have to have a sort of god-complex to do their work. Or maybe it's just my transference issues! :)
January 2, 2015
"His experiences with the nymphomaniac governess had catapulted him into premature adulthood..."
Nuff said.
Nuff said.
November 30, 2010
This is quite interesting, if you can get past the fact that it's incredibly dated. Seriously, does anyone believe in psychoanalysis anymore? But it provides insights both into Lindner's patients and into the state of psychology/psychiatry in the forties and fifties. I would recommend this only to people with a special interest in the topic.
January 7, 2008
about dr. robert linder's psychoanalysis practice... case studies of some of his most interesting patients. i got bogged down by all the psychoanalysis, which i am "ambivolent" about (psychoanalysts like that word). lots of sexual fanatasies and subsequent traumas about people subconsciously wanting sleep with their parents and this being the source of all their problems. i would have given the book 2 stars, but the last case study made it the read worth it for me. about a missile scientist with an active fantasy life. he spends much of his psychological time persuing and documenting intergalactic travels... an improvement over his isolated life as a lonely kid and a lonely scientist. incidentally, dr. linder doesn't solely employ psychoanalytic techniques to treat this patient. this also makes the case more interesting to me than the others.
July 16, 2009
Five stories from the world of couch-style 1940s psychoanalysis, back when every psychological problem was secretly about parricide and incest. Lindner is engaging and selects often fascinating case studies that (he claims, anyway) come from his actual experience, first at a federal penitentiary, then in private practice. I think this book is the godfather of the "strange, true tales of psychology" genre in general, and it's interesting both in itself and for its historical value.
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August 25, 2011i also got this book at the cat back surgery fundraiser. it's a bantam book, listed price $.35. i got it for $.33. score. its about psychoanalytical "tales". it says it's a disturbing book. i was intrigued by the title. and i like how the title was in all undercaps or under case as it may be. it's a small paperback and i liked the authors signature also. its about murder and other bad stuff that people do. the "pitiful" and "lost individuals" reaching to return to normalcy. i'm rambling.
September 14, 2007
Wow, what a great book. This is the predecessor of Yalom's Love's Executioner. It is a wonderful tail of psychoanalytic case studies from a professional who is a master story teller. It was written in the 1950's and is very poignant today. It's an easy read and only cost a couple of bucks on amazon. Check it out and enjoy the stories and their impact on how you conceptualize cases.
November 16, 2007
One psychotherapists compilation of several patient encounters and his analytical interpretations. Little dated and sluggish for current times - quint. One bizzare tranferance where author gets emeshed into his patients future-space fantasy -
February 19, 2008
I read this the first time I really went to Mexico and on the buses it blew my mind. Something about this is really evocative and fifties and almost post-apocalyptic to me. I am a sucker for therapy stories and this was my first.
May 16, 2008
i totally enjoyed reading this book. keep in mind if any of you choose to read this the author is a fruedian so every thing roots itself in sex. i especially enjoyed the last case but all of them are interesting as hell.
May 30, 2007
Excellent book for those interested in the twisted mind.
September 14, 2007
I had to read this for an Abnormal Psych class, but it was interesting.
December 17, 2007
I read this because Jonathan and his other psychologist friends highly recommended it. I didn't find it as good as they made it out to be.
October 24, 2008
fascinating case studies of a shrink's most extremely troubled and bizarre cases...
June 17, 2009
this was a very interesting book,it shows that everybody no matter how sane they are can have a brush with insanity themselves.i would rate this book about a 3.75.
Want to read
December 17, 2008Just saw this mentioned on BoingBoing. It sounds fantastic! Ive got to track it down.
Someone buy it for me? ;)
Someone buy it for me? ;)
March 28, 2009
This was an eye opener....especially case number 5.
October 6, 2009
Of greatest interest is the section "The Jet-Propelled Couch" about a crack up of a scientist who worked on the Bomb.
September 4, 2011
I read this book for psychology class I took in college. My favorite section in the book was called "The Jet-Propelled Couch." I found it to be a very interesting read.
March 23, 2012
Fascinating tales from a psychoanalyst's couch, slow at a few points, but all in all, an eye opening look at the work of a talented analyst and writer.
May 23, 2016
Interesting case studies, a number of which focus on the forensic population which holds less clinical interest.
October 19, 2025
Robert Lindner, a prominent psychoanalyst during the 1940s, relates five unusual cases he has worked on - a murderer, a Communist, a bulimic, a Fascist, and a physicist who believed he was living a parallel life as overlord of a distant star system.
I'm not sure where I heard of this book - most likely through the case of "Kirk Allen," whose story of science fiction delusion is related in the final chapter of the book. While it was a bestseller at the time, it's sunk to obscurity now that Freudian techniques have fallen mostly out of practice. Certainly while I find Freud's theories interesting, they are not at all convincing to me.
Luckily, you don't need to be a believer to enjoy this book. The cases that Lindner describes are interesting just in their stories, both because we delve into the brains of the patients with almost a voyeuristic intensity and because we get a snapshot of how people lived and how they thought during this era. Lindner's tone is compassionate, if vaguely paternalistic - and his writing verges on psychological horror at points, especially during "Solitaire," the story of the bulimic Laura. You find yourself feeling terribly unsettled at some point or another during each case at the fragility of the human mind and the suffering these fairly average people are experiencing.
Of course, sometimes you find yourself unable to move past Lindner's dated theories about Oedipal complexes (frankly I'm convinced that Freud's original theories are so skewed because he simply did not acknowledge the sheer prevalence of childhood sexual abuse), and consequently the ignoring of the obvious. In "The Jet-Propelled Couch" for example, I think the sexual abuse that "Kirk" suffered at the hands of his governess probably has more bearing on his delusions about his parallel life than the early death of a nanny who was a maternal figure to him. Similarly, Lindner's treatment of his patients seems to make more sense when it drifts away from classic Freudian analysis.
I'm not sure where I heard of this book - most likely through the case of "Kirk Allen," whose story of science fiction delusion is related in the final chapter of the book. While it was a bestseller at the time, it's sunk to obscurity now that Freudian techniques have fallen mostly out of practice. Certainly while I find Freud's theories interesting, they are not at all convincing to me.
Luckily, you don't need to be a believer to enjoy this book. The cases that Lindner describes are interesting just in their stories, both because we delve into the brains of the patients with almost a voyeuristic intensity and because we get a snapshot of how people lived and how they thought during this era. Lindner's tone is compassionate, if vaguely paternalistic - and his writing verges on psychological horror at points, especially during "Solitaire," the story of the bulimic Laura. You find yourself feeling terribly unsettled at some point or another during each case at the fragility of the human mind and the suffering these fairly average people are experiencing.
Of course, sometimes you find yourself unable to move past Lindner's dated theories about Oedipal complexes (frankly I'm convinced that Freud's original theories are so skewed because he simply did not acknowledge the sheer prevalence of childhood sexual abuse), and consequently the ignoring of the obvious. In "The Jet-Propelled Couch" for example, I think the sexual abuse that "Kirk" suffered at the hands of his governess probably has more bearing on his delusions about his parallel life than the early death of a nanny who was a maternal figure to him. Similarly, Lindner's treatment of his patients seems to make more sense when it drifts away from classic Freudian analysis.
December 2, 2019
Even if the books has a lot of stereotypes in psychoanalysis, I did find it very interesting since some of the cases are for sure going to make the read worth it. The cases selected are first from the experience the author had at a penitentiary and after at his cabinet, in private practice and the years when it was written 1940 – 1950 do reflect the history from those times in the cases mentioned. Each case gives some valuable insights into the state of Psychology in those times. The author is specialized in Freudian therapy and you should take this into consideration when reading the book.
Before reading this book, I had a similar experience with Yalom’s book „Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy” which presents a more recent experience of cases from therapy.
As a student in Psychology, I liked to take some time after each story and reflect the impact the cases have on me and how would I have handled each one for them.
Before reading this book, I had a similar experience with Yalom’s book „Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy” which presents a more recent experience of cases from therapy.
As a student in Psychology, I liked to take some time after each story and reflect the impact the cases have on me and how would I have handled each one for them.
July 9, 2025
Wow. Just wow. I really loved this book. I will say it’s a bit hard of a read, nothing is said plainly… Or everything is said so plainly in such advanced words that it took me a bit to get used to, the vocabulary was amazing. Dr. Linder has extraordinary amounts of self awareness and empathy, magical stuff happens in the therapy room. I also loved reading psychoanalysis and how it worked, cause it’s so discredited these days in the therapy world, but it worked wonderfully. Except I will say there was absolutely no objectivity, Dr Linder was just great at what he did. The last case was my favorite. No matter how “self aware” we are, we will never really have a good grasp on what our mind is capable of. LOVE!!!
Only rated 4 stores cause some of the stories lost my attention and it wasn’t an easy flow to read. But also it did have flow, it was just too advanced maybe. I can’t tell
Only rated 4 stores cause some of the stories lost my attention and it wasn’t an easy flow to read. But also it did have flow, it was just too advanced maybe. I can’t tell
August 25, 2021
Pět příběhů z terapeutické praxe založených na psychoanalýze. Popisy každého případu mi přišly docela cheap, po nastínění problému následovalo vyprávění o pacientovi, ale už žádná vlastní reflexe.
Zaujalo mě vysvětlení bisexuality a incestního myšlení u psychopatů a metoda účasti na bludech, kdy terapeut přistoupí na smyšlenou realitu pacienta, čímž naruší přesvědčení o její existenci (což jako, wtf)
Zaujalo mě vysvětlení bisexuality a incestního myšlení u psychopatů a metoda účasti na bludech, kdy terapeut přistoupí na smyšlenou realitu pacienta, čímž naruší přesvědčení o její existenci (což jako, wtf)
January 25, 2025
The Fifty Minute Hour by Robert Lindner. I first read this book in the sixties when it was published. I keep remembering it. The stand out chapter is “The Jet Propelled Couch” which reads like an episode right out of the Twilight Zone. The author, a psychotherapist, decided the only way to reach a schizophrenic patient was to enter his world and try to find an incongruity that would crash the patients belief in his alternate reality. An absolute stunner. Five stars - no six.
October 19, 2019
I read this book because of reading The Jet Propelled Couch (https://harpers.org/archive/1954/12/t...) and I hoped there would be similar stories, since the JPC is the last one in this book. I like the last couple of pages or so when Lindner was realizing that he himself is not unlike one of his patients.
I think the JPC is the most interesting of all the stories in this book and you should just read the Harper's articles.
This book is essentially the compilation of a few of Lindner's cases he came across as a psychoanalyst in the early 20th century. There's a murderer and an extreme fascist and an extreme communist and a woman with bulemia (engorging herself with eating- not forcing herself to throw it up). Emphasis on early 20th century. Pretty much every case had some Freudian hook. All about hating your mother/father or wanting to be with your mother/father. Also some stuff that is flatout wrong in today's world (that hypnosis doesn't work well with people with "homosexual proclivities" and what the heck is his description of bisexuality?
BUT I did find the whole book interesting as a look into what pschyoanalysis was in the early 20th century and as a historical document, that's interesting if you are interested in the lived history of that. So don't want to totally dissuade a reader interested in that.
But if you want mental fantasies about going to outerspace, or other such, then just read Harper's.
I think the JPC is the most interesting of all the stories in this book and you should just read the Harper's articles.
This book is essentially the compilation of a few of Lindner's cases he came across as a psychoanalyst in the early 20th century. There's a murderer and an extreme fascist and an extreme communist and a woman with bulemia (engorging herself with eating- not forcing herself to throw it up). Emphasis on early 20th century. Pretty much every case had some Freudian hook. All about hating your mother/father or wanting to be with your mother/father. Also some stuff that is flatout wrong in today's world (that hypnosis doesn't work well with people with "homosexual proclivities" and what the heck is his description of bisexuality?
BUT I did find the whole book interesting as a look into what pschyoanalysis was in the early 20th century and as a historical document, that's interesting if you are interested in the lived history of that. So don't want to totally dissuade a reader interested in that.
But if you want mental fantasies about going to outerspace, or other such, then just read Harper's.
October 16, 2019
V jednotlivých příbězích popisuje samotný proces terapie pomocí psychoanalýzy. Za ovšem není samospásná a je potřeba někdy volit méně konvenční přístup (což, obzvláště, po válce nebylo v lékařských kruzích úplně obvyklé). V knize se střídá líčení terapie, odborné poznámky k ní, ale také popis událostí z minulosti klientů.
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Kniha se mi četla dost těžkopádně, přiznám se, že jsem ji měla rozečtenou přes dva roky! Vrátila jsem se k ní, protože já prostě knihy dočítám. Někdo by řekl ztráta času, ale tak to prostě mám, no. Docela mě zlobilo autoro sebevědomí (já jsem udělal toto, kolegové by se do toho nepustili, ale díky tomu jsem přišel na to a na to...). Tento "stín" byl vyvážen posledním příběhem a popis toho, že i samotný psychoanalytik je jen člověk a psychika je mocná čarodějka.
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Kniha se mi četla dost těžkopádně, přiznám se, že jsem ji měla rozečtenou přes dva roky! Vrátila jsem se k ní, protože já prostě knihy dočítám. Někdo by řekl ztráta času, ale tak to prostě mám, no. Docela mě zlobilo autoro sebevědomí (já jsem udělal toto, kolegové by se do toho nepustili, ale díky tomu jsem přišel na to a na to...). Tento "stín" byl vyvážen posledním příběhem a popis toho, že i samotný psychoanalytik je jen člověk a psychika je mocná čarodějka.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews