Gerald Abel's book is a historical exploration of significant achievements in earlier emancipatory psychology, extending to concepts from more recent psychological movements with a critical self-understanding. It provides an overview of reference points that have primarily emerged from the efforts of various psychological schools towards a Marxist orientation, which are often overlooked by official institutions. In this depiction of critical approaches in psychology, issues are clarified, controversies are made comprehensible, and essential elements of a critical methodology are presented. What critical psychology can be is ultimately developed here, particularly from psychoanalytic approaches.