A Psychoanalytic Theory Of Infantile Experience

Eugenio Gaddini, a pioneer within the Italian psychoanalytical movement, devoted a lifetime of research to the organization of infantile mental life. In this edited collection of his papers Dr Adam Limentani introduces Gaddini's key theories showing how they are closely linked to, but different from, the thinking of Phyllis Greenacre, Donald Winnicott and Melanie Klein. These ideas are of great clinical relevance for the treatment of adult patients, particularly in the understanding of psychosomatic disorders. The richness of the clinical evidence with which Gaddini supports his hypothesis, and the originality of his conceptions make this a rewarding and stimulating book for the practicing analyst and psychotherapist.

Eugenio Gaddini (1916-85) was a pioneer within the Italian psychoanalytic movement. His research into psychic conflicts in adult patients led him to realize that most archaic and primitive mental processes were close to body functions. Focusing his research on the psycho-physical syndromes of early infancy, he then sought to determine which particular functions contribute to the creation of the mind. For this edited collection of Gaddini's papers, Adam Limentani has selected those covering three main themes: imitation, which Gaddini saw as a central factor in early development; ego formation - the process of instinctual drive arousal and the awareness of separateness from the object; and the way the body becomes meaningful to the mind. In each paper Gaddini supports his hypotheses with ample clinical material. Limentani's interpretative and explanatory introduction discusses what Gaddini and Winnicott had in common and where they differed; the points of contact and difference with Kleinian theories; Gaddini's view of imitiation in the development of the mind; and his approach to psychosomatic medicine. Above all Limentani stresses Gaddini's originality and independence of thought.

Eugenio Gaddini, a pioneer within the Italian psychoanalytical movement, devoted a lifetime of research to the organization of infantile mental life. In this edited collection of his papers Dr Adam Limentani introduces Gaddini's key theories showing how they are closely linked to, but different from, the thinking of Phyllis Greenacre, Donald Winnicott and Melanie Klein. These ideas are of great clinical relevance for the treatment of adult patients, particularly in the understanding of psychosomatic disorders. The richness of the clinical evidence with which Gaddini supports his hypothesis, and the originality of his conceptions make this a rewarding and stimulating book for the practicing analyst and psychotherapist.

This book describes the lives and theories of the pioneer child psychoanalysts who created the field of child psychoanalysis and contributed to the understanding of child development. It aims to expose emerging professionals in the field of psychoanalysis to theories of infant experiences.

Winner of the American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis Prize for best Edited book published in 2016 Psychoanalysis in Italy is a particularly diverse and vibrant profession, embracing a number of influences and schools of thought, connecting together new thinking, and producing theorists and clinicians of global renown. Reading Italian Psychoanalysis provides a comprehensive guide to the most important Italian psychoanalytic thinking of recent years, including work by major names such as Weiss, E.Gaddini, Matte Blanco, Nissim Momigliano, Canestri, Amati Mehler, and Ferro. It covers the most important theoretical developments and clinical advances, with special emphasis on contemporary topics such as transference, trauma and primitive states of mind where Italian work has been particular influential. In this volume, Franco Borgogno, Alberto Luchetti and Luisa Marino Coe of the Italian Psychoanalytical Society provide an overview of how Italian psychoanalysis has developed from the 1920’s to the present day, tracing its early influences and highlighting contemporary developments. Forty-six seminal and representative papers of psychoanalysts belonging to the two Italian psychoanalytical societies (the Italian Psychoanalytical Society and the Italian Association of Psychoanalysis) have been chosen to illuminate what is special about Italian theoretical and clinical thinking, and what is demonstrative of the specificity of its psychoanalytic discourse. The selected papers are preceded by a first introductory section about the history of psychoanalysis in Italy and followed by a "swift glance at Italian psychoanalysis from abroad". They are grouped into sections which represent the areas particularly explored by Italian psychoanalysis. Each section is accompanied by introductory comments which summarize the main ideas and concepts and also their historical and cultural background, so as to offer to the reader either an orientation and stimulus for the debate and to indicate their connections to other papers included in the present volume and to the international psychoanalytic world. The book is divided into six parts including: History of psychoanalysis in Italy Metapsychology Clinical practice, theory of technique, therapeutic factors The person of the analyst, countertransference and the analytic relationship/field Trauma, psychic pain, mourning and working-through Preverbal, precocious, fusional, primitive states of the mind This volume offers an excellent and detailed "fresco" of Italian psychoanalytic debate, shining a light on thinking that has evolved differently in France, England, North and Latin America. It is an ideal book for beginners and advanced students of clinical theory as well as experienced psychoanalysts wanting to know more about Italian psychoanalytic theory and technique, and how they have developed.

This important new book presents a comprehensive integration of psychoanalytic theories of human development from Freud to the present, showing their implications for the evaluation and treatment of children and adults. Phyllis Tyson and Robert L. Tyson not only review the literature on emotional growth but also provide a developmental theory of their own, one that examines psychosexual development in the context of a number of other simultaneously evolving systems--emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social--all of which work in relation to one another in a dynamic way. The authors describe the developmental sequences of these systems and how they coalesce to form the human personality. The Tysons view development as it occurs rather than retrospectively from reconstructions of earlier life experience. They begin by tracing the history of this perspective, describing the developmental process, then critically reviewing psychoanalytic theories of development. The authors present developmental sequences for psychosexuality, object relations, the sense of self, affect, cognition, the superego, gender identity, and the ego. Throughout they maintain a central and orienting focus on the intrapsychic--on what happens in the mind as it evolves. In contrast to recent psychoanalytic emphases on interpersonal aspects of early development, they view perceived and felt interpersonal interactions as working in conjunction with innate factors to provide the basis for the internal world. According to the Tysons, it is the evolution and elaboration of this internal world that is the domain of psychoanalytic theory of development.

Drawing on a broad range of psychoanalytic, cultural and social influences, the author examines the concept of toxic masculinity for how it brings into focus a widespread anxiety about toxicity throughout daily life: In nature, society and personal relationships. Aggressive, misogynistic masculinity has become a major topic in recent years, spreading throughout popular culture, the media and research. Often called 'phallic,' it simmers in everyday life and hits the headlines for turning florid and violent in maintaining its dominance, especially towards women. But at the extreme, phallic masculinity has recently crystallized in a very different form, as toxic masculinity, and 'toxic' has become the near-universal epithet for all forms of extreme destructiveness in a 'toxic culture.' It has brought into focus, and named as masculine, an anxiety over toxicity in every corner of everyday life. Exploring toxic masculinity in depth brings out a misogynistic current that pervades individual and social realms, but also throws a sharp light on normal masculinity. By elaborating on the roots of this toxicity, Figlio is able to draw out a different, more positive alternative for masculinity, with particular reference to the underlying fears around fertility and the seminal. With a strong research and clinical base, this book is essential reading for all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists and cultural and social theorists interested in exploring concepts of masculinity.