Gustafson takes the reader on a tour of the theories and therapies that have informed his practice over his career. Beginning with Freud and Breuer, Gustafson includes the work of Ferenczi, Rank, Reich, Alexander & French, Sullivan, Winnicott, Balint, Gedo, Havens, Malan, Mann, Sifneos, Davanloo, Bateson, the Milan teams, and Maturana.

Each chapter is designed to pull what Gustafson feels is the essence of the method of each of these therapists and he typically uses one of the therapists' cases as well as one of his own as a way to demonstrate that the work of the masters is possible to adapt and be made workable for oneself.

In the end, Gustafson works towards a "method of methods", setting a structure (beginning, middle and end) for brief therapy, within which one applies the methods of whichever theorist best matches the dynamics of the patient.

For all of his cases, he includes in the back of the book a full clinical review based on the case files of the clients. This way, the reader can see the whole picture of the case and not just the truncated view within the chapter itself.

This text has extensive endnotes and references. I started with this text a decade ago and have worked my way through nearly every original source since. It is an excellent way to shape one's theoretical and clinical world.