Who Owns Psychoanalysis

So who does own psychoanalysis? Equally pertinent, what is psychoanalysis? Even before the death of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis was splintering into different groups, each convinced of their superiority to the other. There was little co-operation between them plus a great deal of resentment, recrimination and suspicion. The status quo has been evolving slowly in recent years, with increased tolerance and communication between the different factions, leading to the birth of this book.The result is an international and inter-group collaboration of eminent psychoanalysts and scholars of psychoanalysis discussing and reflecting on the meaning psychoanalysis holds for them. Their contributions have been grouped into four sections: academic, historical, political and scientific. Each paper is varied in its subject matter, looking at such issues as psychoanalytic ownership, the genealogy of the word "psychotherapy", historical perspectives on the situation, whether there can be a monopoly on psychoanalysis, and the role of the brain in relation to the mind, and has been grouped according to its main theme.

So who does own psychoanalysis? Equally pertinent, what is psychoanalysis? Even before the death of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis was splintering into different groups, each convinced of their superiority to the other. There was little co-operation between them plus a great deal of resentment, recrimination and suspicion. The status quo has been evolving slowly in recent years, with increased tolerance and communication between the different factions, leading to the birth of this book.The result is an international and inter-group collaboration of eminent psychoanalysts and scholars of psychoanalysis discussing and reflecting on the meaning psychoanalysis holds for them. Their contributions have been grouped into four sections: academic, historical, political and scientific. Each paper is varied in its subject matter, looking at such issues as psychoanalytic ownership, the genealogy of the word "psychotherapy", historical perspectives on the situation, whether there can be a monopoly on psychoanalysis, and the role of the brain in relation to the mind, and has been grouped according to its main theme.

This collection of papers, written over the last six years by Robert Caper, focuses on the importance of distinguishing self from object in psychological development. Robert Caper demonstrates the importance this psychological disentanglement plays in the therapeutic effect of psychoanalysis. In doing so he demonstrates what differentiates the practice of psychoanalysis from psychotherapy; while psychotherapy aims to ease the patient towards "good mental health" through careful suggestion; psychoanalysis allows the patient to discover him/herself, with the self wholly distinguished from other people and other objects.

From its peculiar birth in Freud’s self-analysis to its current state of deep crisis, psychoanalysis has always been a practice that questions its own existence. Like the patients that risk themselves in this act - it is somehow upon this threatened ground that the very life of psychoanalysis depends. Perhaps psychoanalysis must always remain in a precarious, indeed ghostly, position at the limit of life and death?

Children whose minds as well as bodies have been damaged by the intrusions of sexual abuse, violence or neglect, and others, quite different, who are handicapped by their own mysterious sensitivities to more minor deprivations, may experience a type of black despair and cynicism that require long-term treatment and test the stamina of the psychotherapist to the utmost. In Live Company, Anne Alvarez reflects on thirty years' experience of treating autistic, psychotic and borderline children and adolescents by the methods of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Central to the book is the moving story on an autistic child's long struggle between sanity and madness, in which the author describes the arduous journey that she as therapist and he as patient made towards new understanding and his partial recovery. Modern developments in psychoanalytic theory and technique mean that such children can be treated with some success. In the book the author discusses these developments, and also describes some of the areas of convergence and divergence between organicist and psychodynamicist theories of autism. Particularly important is her integration of psychoanalytic theory with the new findings in infant development and infant psychiatry. This has enabled her to formulate some new and exciting ideas and speculate on the need for some additions to established theory. Anne Alvarez has produced a professionally powerful and englightening book, drawn from her extensive experience as a child psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, which will be of interest to all professionals involved with children and adolescents as well as anyone interested in madness and the growth of the mind.

'Any Psychoanalyst must find his own way and come upon well-known and well-established theories through experiences of his own realisations.' So says W. R. Bion in his Commentary in Second Thoughts. In First Thoughts, Jayne Hankinson does just this. She presents a personal account of her own 'realisations' and discoveries during an attempt to give thought to 'beginnings'. She explores the meaning and relevance of creation myths, leading to a deep realisation of how they unconsciously represent and shape much of our lives, even today. This exploration meanders through the Garden of Eden, leaving with a realisation that there is an 'Adam' and 'Eve' aspect in dynamic tension within each of our minds. This serpentine journey becomes a 'hermeneutic loop' in which dissatisfaction with parts of psychoanalytic theory leads to an engagement in the phenomena of beginnings and a consequent reappraisal and reinterpretation, via a closer look at Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and Wilfred Bion to formulate an understanding of what their 'first thoughts' may be. The book ends with the author's own creation myth reshaped and a deeper awareness of how important 'beginnings' are.

Permanent Disquiet: Psychoanalysis and the Transitional Subjectcomprises the first English language translation of some of Michel Émile deM'Uzan's key writings, alongside an invaluable glossary by Murielle Gagnebin of M'Uzan's work. Together, they give a thorough overview of his key thinking. The first part of the book sees de M'Uzan exploring the compatibility between creativity (particularly creative writing) and psychoanalytic practice and includes an exchange with Jean-Bertrand Pontalis. The second part focuses on M'Uzan's key psychoanalytic concept - "permanent disquiet". Freud stated that the purpose of psychoanalysis was to transform neurotic suffering into common unhappiness. De M'Uzan built on this idea in his career and examined what it means for the clinical process for the analyst to step back, not to try and force happiness onto the patient, but instead to accept and allow them to find for themselves their own state of 'permanent disquiet'. Drawing on Freud and Winnicott and including an invaluable glossary of de M'Uzan's own psychoanalytic terms, this book brings de M'Uzan's powerful theory to the anglophone psychoanalytic world for the first time. Permanent Disquiet: Psychoanalysis and the Transitional Subject will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists globally who are interested in French psychoanalytic thought. ate of 'permanent disquiet'. Drawing on Freud and Winnicott and including an invaluable glossary of de M'Uzan's own psychoanalytic terms, this book brings de M'Uzan's powerful theory to the anglophone psychoanalytic world for the first time. Permanent Disquiet: Psychoanalysis and the Transitional Subject will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists globally who are interested in French psychoanalytic thought.

Born to Turkish parents in Cyprus, Vamık Volkan moved to the US as a young man over half a century ago, where his career flourished in ways few could have foreseen. He is the founder of many worthwhile organisations and initiatives and his research and work have been applied into real-world international relations. Therefore, any book about Vamık Volkan is also a professional guide; the life of a professor and his real-life stories, a means towards understanding humanity, societies, memories, and modes of psychological treatment. Within, are many influential and widely accepted concepts that Dr. Volkan introduced to the wider world. This collaborative biography is full of fascinating insight into a modest man whose work took him to some of the most combative and volatile parts of the world, where his interventions had positive, real-world effects for us all. Professionals working within his field and also those outside will find it full of inspiration and innovation – a riveting read for anyone with an interest in international relations, which should be us all in these uncertain times.