Mentalizing Power And Powerlessness

In this book, the author discusses with a view to psychotherapeutic practice how power and the exercise of power can be used in a constructive sense. Spontaneously, people tend to associate the topic of power negatively. They mostly talk about their own powerlessness and the power of "those up there", and very rarely about their own striving for power. It is undisputed that power and the exercise of power, as well as dealing with powerlessness, play an important role in psychotherapy. Nevertheless, the constructive and destructive aspects of power are still too little reflected. Here, there is a mentalization deficit on the part of both psychotherapists and patients. In this book questions are asked and suggestions for practice are developed. Written for psychological psychotherapists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, family therapists, counselors, psychiatrists, physicians, students, and psychotherapists in training.

Sometimes relationships do not run as smoothly as we would like. Attunement to others can be difficult, and conversely, from time to time we feel misunderstood ourselves by the ones we love. This can lead to misunderstanding, frustration, and friction. If we mentalize more and better, i.e. give more attention to our own feelings, thoughts, desires, and intentions as well as to those of others, our interactions will be more pleasant and feel safer. This applies to every relationship - those with our children and pupils, and those with our partners and colleagues. We all know a student, neighbour, client, or adolescent who feels alone and misunderstood. Maybe we see but hesitate to really connect and mean something to them. Or we think it that there is nothing we can do. This book shows how everyone can make a difference. Making someone feel important, mentalizing about someone, and connecting with someone who may not have felt contact for a long time does make a difference. The Power of Mentalizing explains in an accessible way what mentalizing means and how it can help make a difference in our own lives as well as in the lives of others. The authors of this book draw on the rich developmental psychology literature on attachment, mentalizing, and epistemic trust. They use several examples to explain what it takes to really connect. In addition, they challenge the reader to self-reflect and to become a slightly better version of themselves.

Discover how to gain (and keep) power in any situation with this “remarkably insightful read on what power is, how it’s gained, and how it can be used for good” (Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again). Power is one of the most misunderstood—and therefore vilified—concepts in our society. Many assume power is predetermined by personality or wealth, or that it’s gained by strong-arming others. You might even write it off as “dirty” and want nothing to do with it. But by staying away from power, you give it up to someone else who may not have your best interest in mind. We must understand and use our power to have impact, and pioneering researchers Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro provide the playbook for doing so in Power, for All. Battilana and Casciaro offer a “necessary” (Tarana Burke, creator of the #MeToo movement and bestselling author of Unbound) and “invaluable” (David Gergen, CNN political analyst) vision of power: the ability to influence someone else’s behavior. This influence is derived from having access to valued resources, and once you understand what those are, you can take action to improve life for yourself and others. With proven strategies of agitating, innovating, and orchestrating change, Power, for All shows how those with less power can challenge established structures to make them more balanced. The authors teach you how to power-map your workplace to find who can create real change at work, plan for and cause sustaining shifts, and understand the two basic needs all human beings share—safety and self-esteem—and the resources people seek to satisfy those needs: money and status, but also autonomy, achievement, affiliation, and mortality. They explore how these dynamics play out through vivid storytelling: as Donatella Versace successfully leads her brother’s company after his death—despite having a title, but little influence; what social movements can learn from youth climate activists and how they can go farther; and how a manager can gain the trust of skeptical employees and improve the workplace. Power, for All demystifies the essential mechanisms for acquiring and using power for all people.

Mentalization-based child therapy, previously known as developmental therapy, is the latest branch on the psychoanalytic tree of knowledge. It comprises a number of techniques that address deficiencies in specific areas of psychological development. It aims to treat children whose development has come to a standstill. A combination of data from psychoanalysis, infant research, attachment research, and neurobiology was of decisive significance in reaching this point. It is becoming clear that neurobiological processes can be understood very well on the basis of psychoanalytic frameworks. These new insights into peoples mental functioning also serve to foster collaboration, resulting in an integration of the more relationship-oriented and the more competence oriented treatments. This book aims to fill a growing need in mental health care for children and young people to recieve an integrated treatment.

Mentalizing in Child Therapy focuses on open-ended psychotherapy for children with complex mental health issues and attachment problems. It offers examples of personalized and integrated treatment that is "firm in structure yet flexible in its focus" (Peter Fonagy, foreword to first edition). The book is based on the systematic observation of the treatment of complex problems in children (4-12 years) using a mentalizing therapeutic stance and a range of techniques to enhance mentalizing abilities and trust in other people, incorporating aspects of the more relationship-oriented and competence-oriented treatments. In this updated edition, the authors have elaborated on the topic of attention regulation, having included Siegel’s concept of the ‘window of tolerance’. They’ve also written more on the mentalizing abilities of the therapist, the importance of providing structure at the beginning of the treatment, and the value of communication for developing epistemic trust. Featuring guidelines for clinical practitioners, this book is important for the clinical training of child psychotherapists, as well as for professional child psychiatrists, child psychologists and other therapists working with four to 12-year-old children experiencing significant developmental problems with mentalizing.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International] licence. It is free to read at Oxford Clinical Psychology Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The theory of mentalizing and epistemic trust introduced by Peter Fonagy and colleagues at the Anna Freud Centre has been an important perspective on mental health and illness. Mentalizing and Epistemic Trust is the first comprehensive account and evaluation of this perspective. The book explores twenty primary concepts that organize the contributions of Fonagy and colleagues: adaptation, aggression, the alien self, culture, disorganized attachment, epistemic trust, hypermentalizing, reflective function, the P factor, pretend mode, the primary unconscious, psychic equivalence, mental illness, mentalizing, mentalization-based therapy, non-mentalizing, the self, sexuality, the social environment, and teleological mode. The biographical and social context of the development of these ideas is examined. The book also specifies the current strengths and limitations of the theory of mentalizing and epistemic trust, with attention to the implications for both clinicians and researchers. This book will be of interest to historians of the human sciences, developmental psychologists, and clinicians interested in taking a broader perspective on psychological theory and concepts.

For some years now, psychoanalysts have been trying to understand the implications of neuroscientific findings for psychoanalytic theory and practice. In On Psychoanalysis, Disillusion, and Death: Dead certainties Antonie Ladan looks at how findings from neuroscience and memory research can inform our understanding of some of the most important psychoanalytic concepts, such as transference and unconscious fantasy. Central to the book are the 'dead certainties' that, to a great extent, determine how we lead our lives. Antonie Ladan argues that these certainties are too self-evident to be seen, as invisible as the air we breathe. He shows how in our associations with others, we are in large measure 'guided' by 'dead certain' relational patterns of which we are not conscious, but that remain implicit. Using clinical examples, Ladan illustrates how a specific form of observation, where the analysand and the analyst pay careful attention to their relationship over an extended period of time, makes it possible to gradually recognise these automatic expectations and behaviours in relational situations. On Psychoanalysis, Disillusion, and Death explores how the psychoanalyst can bring the implicit patterns, within which analysands find themselves trapped, to their attention enabling them to look at the world from a 'disillusioning' perspective in order to accept life and the prospect of death for what they are. This book will be of interest to psychotherapists, analytical psychologists, psychoanalysts, therapists and students.

Results from numerous surveys indicate that many students do not feel safe in school. This condition exacts an academic as well as a psychological toll because, as the authors remind us, children must feel safe in order to learn. The authors of Preventing Bullying and School Violence contend that inadequate attention has been given to the role of mental health professionals in preventing bullying and school violence. They propose a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, one that draws upon the skills of the educational, health care, and mental health communities in identifying risk, choosing appropriate interventions, and implementing targeted wellness programs. The authors see bullying as a process, not a problem originating with a single troubled person. Accordingly, they believe that bullying behaviors can be effectively addressed only by targeting the broader social context -- the coercive power and group dynamics that breed and maintain bullying and violent behavior in the school setting. The book is designed to help clinicians, school counselors, and administrators create a safe climate for their students and to respond thoughtfully, but swiftly, when threats arise. The authors offer many practical guidelines for achieving these goals, addressing The critical importance of establishing a strong connection between the family, the school, and the community in creating a healthy academic environment Strategies for working effectively with the complex social bureaucracies that often characterize the entities (such as school boards and governmental agencies) that intervene in cases involving violent children, with an emphasis on developing skills in managing both small and large groups Ways to define and recognize at-risk children who require special attention as a result of having mental illness and/or learning disability Innovative community interventions, such as therapeutic mentoring and home-based therapy, in addition to information on local, state, and federal programs designed to support antiviolence programs in the schools Techniques for promoting wellness among the student population -- not just physical wellness, but also the positive attitudes and coping skills that are the hallmarks of mental health. Preventing Bullying and School Violence aims to empower mental health professionals to work confidently and effectively in educational settings to reduce the distress, enhance the psychological well-being, and secure the safety of all schoolchildren.