Adam Phillips wages a playful war on the strictures of traditional talk therapy . Phillips has spent decades translating specialized concepts for general audiences--demystifying transference and projection, peeking under the hood of everyday occupations such as tickling and being bored, drawing on classic works of literature to illustrate the relevance of his field to ordinary experience . he often adopts an impish persona . His wordplay is sporadically self-delighted; his pose of guileless receptivity . The Life You Want is a sort of dream work, which synthesizes opposing elements into a poetic, if wishful, whole.