Review of Relational concepts in psychoanalysis.

Reviews the book, Relational concepts in psychoanalysis by Stephen A. Mitchell (see record 1988-98472-000). This book is a landmark statement for psychoanalytic theory, and especially of the place of relational theory. It stands outside and above the field, viewing developments over the century since Freud began his explorations. Mitchell compares each of the major positions of psychoanalytic theory specifically to the new model he proposes, which he calls a "relational-conflict model." This model is neither the "drive-conflict" model derived centrally from Freud, nor the "developmental-arrest" model that Mitchell associates with Winnicott and Kohut. Mitchell's model is closest to those proposed by Fairbairn and Racker, but he also relies heavily on Sullivan, Loewtild, Schafer, and other modern writers who have contributed to a view of the individual as centered in the human environment and interactive with it. Mitchell has given us a first-rate book, a scholarly and inventive synthesis with welcome conclusions. The clarity and thoughtfulness of his statement make this book worthy of study, even for those who take issue with him. I believe he takes us as far as analytic theory can go at the moment towards blending the worlds of the intrapsychic and the interpersonal. Mitchell notes that theories are, after all, only metaphors to be used and examined. His own statement seems a particularly sensible and comprehensive one. There is room to grow in psychoanalytic theory and technique. Mitchell makes it abundantly clear that psychoanalysis is not only alive, but is entering an exciting period of synthesis and new growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The anatomy of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, The anatomy of psychotherapy by Lawrence Friedman (see record 1988-97848-000). The authors' aim is to clarify the various theories of psychoanalysis from Freud to the current and to examine in depth the personal features of the analyst in the context of his/her work. With a knowledge of the entire range of psychoanalytic literature rare with most theorists or practitioners, the author reviews the philosophical developments of Freudian theory. He includes in this review some of the frictions, disputes and subtle disagreements within the classical analytic tradition. He then proceeds to describe the most significant of the contemporary deviations from classical theory (e.g., object relations, interpersonal theory, self psychology, action language) and compares and contrasts them with each other. Friedman has long been a commentator on contemporary psychoanalytic developments and he has adapted his many articles into this work. The book itself is organized into six sections, focusing on the personal and theoretical. It is well written but quite dense. Much concentration is needed. I believe that one must have an interest in psychoanalytic theory as well as a rather sophisticated appreciation of it to truly enjoy this book. It is long and detailed and I imagine difficult to get through without an intrinsic interest in the "anatomy" of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Attachment in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Attachment in psychotherapy by David J. Wallin (see record 2007-05421-000). This intellectual and clinical tour-de-force is what we have been waiting for: a book that is on the one hand a coherent, creative, thoughtful, and remarkably integrated view of contemporary psychoanalysis, with attachment, and attachment processes, at its core, and on the other a reflection on our daily, complex, work with patients. The book has three broad aims: first, to ground the reader in attachment theory and research, second, to broaden the reach of attachment theory by building bridges to other aspects of contemporary psychoanalytic theory and science, and third to apply this broader, deeply psychoanalytic, clinical attachment theory to understanding the dynamics of an individual patient and the dynamics of clinical work. This book should be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary psychoanalysis. Few writers have the ability to write so directly and clearly about complex science and theory; his scholarship and reach are extraordinary. This book is also a book for therapists at all levels of experience. Throughout every section of the book, Wallin writes about his work with patients, about the therapeutic process, about the therapeutic situation, and about the therapeutic relationship, in all its complexity. In the end, he creates a truly contemporary vision of human development, affect regulation, and relational processes, grounded in the body and in the brain, and in the fundamental relationships that make us who we are, as therapists, as patients, and as human beings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life.

Reviews the book, The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life by Kenneth J. Gergen (see record 1991-97621-000). There is, perhaps, no other concept as seminal for psychology as the self. For this reason alone, Kenneth Gergen's book represents an important contribution to our understanding of this influential concept. However, Gergen's vision is so broad, his arguments so compelling, and the implications so revolutionary, that the work defies confinement exclusively within the walls of academia. In essence, Gergen is articulating his vision of a postmodern world, and he lays an invitation squarely before the reader to come and partake. The conception of the self as private and autonomous is the focus of Gergen's postmodern challenge. In his chapter, "Social Saturation and the Populated Self," Gergen postulates that technological innovation in contemporary society has made possible a rapid proliferation of relationships. This he refers to as the "process of social saturation." Gergen's book constitutes a substantive contribution to psychology's on going understanding of the self. Copious examples are provided throughout, drawing on and extending scholarly debates. Also included are anecdotes and evidences from such far ranging domains as art, film, music, literature, and architecture. These not only clarify and reinforce his arguments, but also illustrate the scope and practicality of the position he espouses. Although readers may not embrace the gestalt of Gergen's vision of a postmodern culture, they are certain to find this book to be a provocative and rewarding read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The use of self in therapy.

Reviews the book, The use of self in therapy, edited by Michele Baldwin and Virginia Satir (1987). This book was also published as a special issue of the Journal of Psychotherapy and the Family, and it represents a departure from the usual content on dysfunctions and interventions in family treatment. Indeed, the book is not meant to be confined to family therapists alone, although the book's editors are themselves distinguished in this field. While there certainly is some recognition of the analytic aspects of the self, the book is not intended to cover the technicalities or subtleties of psychoanalysis and should not be judged as such. Perhaps the title should have clarified its limited focus, yet as announced by the journal editors, the scholars and therapists bring a "historical, philosophical, clinical, and research perspective." The book was proposed not as "a finished piece" but to invite an "on-going dialogue," enhancing the practice of therapy, and enriching "the lives of the therapists and clients." Throughout the volume it seems apparent that the authors were selected to present the self not only as a vehicle for therapy but also as a creative being whose growth is very much a part of a genuine therapeutic process. Of the ten papers written by contributors, two papers are overviews, four are devoted to the therapists' use of self, one expands on a training program highlighting the integration of the self, two are research papers, and one is a unique revealing paper on the metaphor of a wounded healer. One can conclude that Baldwin and Satir have selected contributors who share their feelings that an effective therapist must feel safe and be congruent, and must believe in the sacredness of the human being. If you include yourself as one who could have been invited to contribute to this book you will certainly enjoy reading it. However, if openness, sharing, the patient as partner, and so on sound like suspicious words, the book will be interesting and even stimulating, but hardly adequate to cover the self in therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Art and Visual Perception.

Reviews the book "Art and visual perception," by Rudolph Arnheim (see record 1955-03680-000). In reading this book, one realizes why more psychologists have not been concerned with art. Art is a technical specialty in its own right and one must be expert both in psychology and in either creative art or the history of art to write on art. Arnheim's book brings the scientific knowledge of a trained psychologist to bear on the fundamental problems of visual art as it has developed through the ages. The discussion is always with reference to concrete works of art. Many original drawings, diagrams, and figures illustrate basic principles and important points. The writing is superb. The book is full of penetrating insights into questions of art and also into many problems of concern to the psychologist. Fundamentally this book is an argument against the usual art historian's approach, so well described by Arnheim as the purely subjective point of view, that what a person sees in a work of art "depends entirely on who he is, what he is interested in, what he has experienced in the past, and how he chooses to direct his attention". A book which reflects so well the author's urbanity, catholicity, and keenness of mind, as well as his technical grasp of the scientific and the artistic, is no small achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychologists Caught: A Psychologic of Psychology.

Reviews the book, Psychologists Caught: A Psychologic of Psychology by Lewis Wolfgang Brandt (1982). This book is about metapsychology, the psychology or psycho-logic, of psychologies. Its basic question is: What determines the particular psychology, theory and method, that a psychologist advocates and practices? Consistent with his emphasis on individual psychohistory, Brandt begins his book with an autobiographical chapter explaining how he personally came to reject American behaviourism and to embrace a phenomenological-Gestalt form of psychoanalysis. This work will be found most interesting and liked best by those, who, like Brandt, have a relativistic bent of mind, who are persuaded that Hume and Kant discovered the natural limits of philosophical thought, who read Hayek and Feyerabend with approbation, or who just enjoy vigorous intellectual discussion for its own sake. Behaviourists and other "technical" psychologists will probably not like it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Recent developments in psychoanalysis: A critical evaluation.

Reviews the book, Recent developments in psychoanalysis: A critical evaluation by Morris N. Eagle (see record 1987-98252-000). This is, I believe, one of the most important books of psychoanalytic scholarship to emerge in the last few years. Morris Eagle has written a book that reviews and attempts to bring clarity to some of these newer speculations, while simultaneously seeking to maintain those aspects of historical scholarship that can withstand the test of time and prove relevant today. Eagle critically assesses the contributions of object relations theory, instinct theory, the psychoanalytic theory of therapy, problems of metapsychology and psychoanalytic epistemology, self psychology, the role of evidence in the formulation of clinical theory, the structural model of the mind, and the psychoanalytic theory of anxiety; that he is able to do so succinctly and coherently is a testimony to the focused intensity of much of the thinking in this provocative book. In conclusion, whether one agrees or not with Eagle's points, this book may be profitably read by students, psychologists, and psychoanalysts interested in the contemporary psychoanalytic scene. It joins a growing body of recent critical scholarship seeking to render psychoanalysis as a more humane, tough, and thoughtful discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of My Life in Theory.

Reviews the book, My Life in Theory by Leo Rangell (see record 2004-12815-000). Leo Rangell has been a central figure in the theoretical, clinical, and organizational aspects of psychoanalysis for over 6 decades. He is the only native-born American to become Honorary President of the International Psychoanalytic Association, where he twice was elected President. He also served 2 terms as President of the American Psychoanalytic Association. One might therefore view him and this intellectual autobiography as the voice of the ultimate "insider." To do so would, however, miss the independence and humanness of the author. Actually, this "autobiography" consists of several parallel strains. It is indeed a history of Rangell's lifetime journey and love affair with psychoanalysis; it is a critique of the direction that psychoanalysis has taken, and subsequently a call for a total composite theory, and finally, it is an attempt to set the record straight. Rangell states: "My goal has always been, and it is in this book, to present a view of a unitary psychoanalytic theory as this has cumulatively grown and progressed over the century" (p.50). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The work of culture: Symbolic transformation in psychoanalysis and anthropology.

Reviews the book, The work of culture: Symbolic transformation in psychoanalysis and anthropology by Gananath Obeyesekere (1990). The reviewer states that the book offers the most sophisticated demonstration yet of the relevance of Freudian psychoanalysis to cultural interpretation by a scholar whose sensitivity to cultural differences should reassure the reader that this will be no mere "reduction" of variable symbols and meanings to the invariant properties of the dynamic unconscious. The four parts of the book are expanded versions of the Lewis Henry Morgan lectures, which Obeyesekere delivered at the University of Rochester. Throughout the book, Obeyesekere explores what he calls "symbolic remove"--the process through which symbolic forms existing at the cultural level. are created and recreated through the minds of individuals. Symbols thus created are regressive because of their ontogenesis in individual development and unconscious processes, while also being progressive, in that the unconscious thought transforms the archaic motivations of early experience and looks forward to their realization in experience of the sacred. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Desire, self, mind and the psychotherapies: Unifying psychological science and psychoanalysis.

Reviews the book, Desire, self, mind and the psychotherapies: Unifying psychological science and psychoanalysis by R. Coleman Curtis (see record 2008-14956-000). It seems that the current drumbeat of attack against psychoanalysis and its contributions has, as Paul Stepansky (2009) states, put psychoanalysis “at the margins.” It is this question that has become the sine qua non. And it is this question that R. Coleman Curtis attempts to answer in her new book. For many years, Curtis has dedicated her work to the integration of psychoanalysis with other disciplines within psychology and psychotherapy. In her book, Curtis hypothesizes that advances in psychoanalysis and in the broader field of psychology make it possible to achieve common ground between disciplines. The goal of integration is clearly a passion for her, and she infuses the book with a hope that there can be mutual recognition of the contributions of psychoanalysis with the rest of the field of psychology in a way not possible before two major trends: the “affective revolution” and the recognition across disciplines of unconscious processes. She argues that this is necessary for both disciplines. Curtis’ work is an elaborate and impressively researched volume that carefully lays out the argument that psychoanalysis must abandon dated ideas and instead must present relevant science to support key suppositions. For psychology in general, she argues that acknowledging seminal findings regarding unconscious motivation and emotional processing will make the field more dynamic and relevant to people’s lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The works of Jacques Lacan: An introduction.

Reviews the book, The works of Jacques Lacan: An introduction by Bice Benvenuto and Roger Kennedy (1986). Thanks to its clarity, this is a book that allows us to raise the whole issue of Lacan's version of psychoanalysis. "The aim of this book," its first sentence says, "is to give a clear introduction to the work of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan". In this, Benvenuto and Kennedy have succeeded admirably. If you are looking for a book to guide your students or yourself through Lacan's version of psychoanalysis, I know of none I would recommend more highly. Lacan's writing is witty and playful, but notoriously difficult. Benvenuto and Kennedy include just enough quotations from Lacan to make one grateful one is reading a summary and not the original. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The legacy of Sándor Ferenczi.

Reviews the book, The legacy of Sándor Ferenczi edited by Lewis Aron and Adrienne Harris (see record 1993-97894-000). The legacy of Sándor Ferenczi includes chapters by 20 analysts and psychotherapists who comment on Ferenczi's work and its significance to psychoanalysis. The book grew out of a number of professional panels and conferences organized by the editors during the past few years to focus attention on and reexamine Ferenczi's contributions to psychoanalysis. His clinical diary (Ferenczi, 1932/1988), which became available in 1988, has also enriched our knowledge about his work, especially his experiment of mutual analysis with Elizabeth Severn, whom he refers to as RN. None of the contributors to this collection improve on Ferenczi's insights in "Confusion of Tongues" concerning the relationship of patient and therapist, but the collection is especially useful in exploring Ferenczi's differences with Freudian technique and understanding Freud's skepticism about the new techniques. Arnold Rachman writes that Ferenczi was the first psychoanalyst to argue for a training analysis as a personal analysis, not a didactic analysis. "He wanted the healers to be as well analyzed as the people they wanted to heal" (p. 93). The purpose was to equip the analyst to use feelings and intuitions as tools--to analyze with heart and libido as well as with intellect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The idea of history in psychoanalysis: Freud and the "Wolf-Man."

Discusses the question of history in psychoanalysis. The advocates of narrative (e.g., R. Schafer, 1983) question whether there is a history in the positivist sense, whereas the followers of Kohut (e.g., A. Ornstein, 1983) want to revive the idea that patients suffer from real past events. Through a close reading of Freud's (1918) "Wolf-Man," the author elaborates the conflicts and contradictions in the psychoanalytic attempt to establish a history. The way Freud complicates the idea of history in the "Wolf-Man" is an example of the psychoanalytic willingness to stay in the ambiguous area between fact and fiction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Heinz Kohut: The making of a psychoanalyst.

Reviews the book, Heinz Kohut: The making of a psychoanalyst by Charles B. Strozier (see record 2001-00786-000). Strozier engages in a roller-coaster approach to the telling of Kohut's life. Just when you are feeling sorry for him because of what he had to endure, you are yanked back into idealizing him again. This book is mostly quite readable but bogs down when Strozier attempts to educate the reader about Kohut's theories. As the only record we have of Kohut's life, Strozier's book is invaluable and will be of interest to anyone concerned with psychoanalysis. But I hope that somewhere down the line there will be another biography that is not so intent on de-idealizing him and will provide a more integrated and insightful tale of this very complicated and compelling man. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The creation of reality in psychoanalysis: A view of the contributions of Donald Spence, Roy Schafer, Robert Stolorow, Irwin Z. Hoffman, and Beyond.

Review of book: Richard Moore (Au.) The creation of reality in psychoanalysis: A view of the contributions of Donald Spence, Roy Schafer, Robert Stolorow, Irwin Z. Hoffman, and Beyond. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1999, 200 pp.. Reviewed by Timothy J. Zeddies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. Volume I. The Formative Years and the Great Discoveries, 1856-1900.

Reviews the book, The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. Volume I. The Formative Years and the Great Discoveries, 1856-1900 by Ernest Jones (see record 1954-03633-000). According to the reviewer, the first volume of the trilogy Dr. Jones promises is a book of unparalleled interest and importance for psychologists of all schools and theoretical persuasions. It presents an absorbing story which will never be more fully nor better told. The historical importance of Freud and his ideas hardly needs to be labored, and it is perhaps enough to say that this book is, in the reviewer's opinion, the best available introduction to an understanding of the man and of psychoanalysis as he developed it. For it presents the work as well as the life of Freud, and carefully traces the development of psychoanalytic ideas up to their first great climax in The Interpretation of Dreams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The talking cures: The psychoanalyses and the psychotherapies.

Reviews the book, The talking cures: The psychoanalyses and the psychotherapies by Robert Wallerstein (see record 1995-98727-000). This book is not a book for reading, it is a compendium, nearly 600 pages long, for consulting. Each of its 25 chapters is a survey of a particular concept or controversy involved in the history of definitions of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Each contains a potted minihistory or two or three, many digests of relevant articles and books, reports on symposia and conferences and special issues of journals, long quotations cut and pasted in by computer, summaries of already published summaries (so many of which were written by Wallerstein that this volume is, in effect, his collected articles abstracted). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Oedipus and beyond: A clinical theory.

Reviews the book, Oedipus and beyond: A clinical theory by Jay Greenberg (see record 1991-98917-000). The book Object relations theory in psychoanalysis, co-authored by Jay Greenberg and Stephen Mitchell, has become a much admired standard text in psychoanalysis since its publication in 1983. Now each author has come out with a further exposition of his individual clinical and theoretical point of view. Mitchell's opus is Relational concepts in psychoanalysis. Oedipus and beyond is Jay Greenberg's personal statement. In this volume he critiques extant theory and proposes a restructuring of the drive concept, creating a unique version of metapsychology. The result is fascinating, challenging, and perplexing. The fascination comes from Greenberg's remarkable ability to grasp and integrate theory, both Freudian and post-Freudian. Greenberg's book is challenging because it requires the reader to flex his or her own mental muscles quite a bit to keep up with the metapsychological reasoning. Finally, the work is perplexing because there seems to be a number of weaknesses and loose ends in Greenberg's approach. Despite the reviewer's preference for her own system, some will find that Greenberg's fits well with their own point of view, filling some holes here and there. The book is well worth a read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)