In Lying on the Couch, Professor Irvin Yalom addresses many of the themes he explored in When Nietzsche Wept. As an existential therapist, he explores the interrelationship between therapist and patient, demonstrating that the medical model of the doctor-patient relationship is more complex and intriguing than current academic views on the boundaries and dual relationships between therapist and patient suggest. In this important novel, Yalom reveals and dissects the ethical terrain of the professional relationship between therapist and patient. With a style not devoid of wit and playful suspense, Yalom once again explores the underlying contradictions between conscious intentions and the lived experience of the therapist. By exposing the many lies occasionally told on the psychoanalyst's couch, this novel offers readers a fascinating, almost illicit, glimpse into what therapists might be thinking during their sessions. It is a gripping, brilliant, and highly intelligent novel that ultimately moves readers with a conclusion of astonishing humanity.