Vamik D. Volkan
Vamik D. Volkan is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, an Emeritus Training and Supervising Analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, and the Senior Erik Erikson Scholar at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He is the president of the International Dialogue Initiative and a former president of the International Society of Political Psychology, the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society, and the American College of Psychoanalysts. He received the Sigmund Freud Award given by the city of Vienna in collaboration with the World Council of Psychotherapy, and in 2015 received the Sigourney Award, honouring achievements for the advancement of psychoanalysis.
We Don't Speak of Fear: Large-Group Identity, Societal Conflict and Collective Trauma
With contributions from Lord John Alderdice, Deniz Aribog an, Abdulkadir Cevik, Senem B. Cevik, Coline Covington, Robi Friedman, David Fromm, M. Gerard Fromm, Hiba Husseini, Aleksandr V. Obolonski,... (more)
How the Mind Works: Concepts and Cases in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
There is a great deal of confusion about psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, even among practitioners of these methods. One reason is the sheer volume of psychoanalytic psychotherapies... (more)
Large-Group Psychology: Racism, Societal Divisions, Narcissistic Leaders and Who We Are Now
A new and updated exploration of large-group psychology from world-renowned psychoanalyst Dr Vamik D. Volkan. This timely book investigates the underlying psychology of the societal divisions... (more)
Life After Loss: The Lessons of Grief
How we cope with grief and come to terms with the death of a loved one shapes our world. In this comprehensive guide to the mourning process, Dr Volkan, a world-recognised authority on grief, shows... (more)
The Seed of Madness: Constitution, Environment, and Fantasy in the Organization of the Psychotic Core
More and more individuals with ego defects, severe object relations conflicts, affective turbulence, and unassimilated contradictions are seeking help from psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.... (more)
Immigrants and Refugees: Trauma, Perennial Mourning, Prejudice, and Border Psychology
Aside from the many political, cultural and economic aspects of the present refugee crisis in Europe, it is also crucial to consider the psychological element. In our fast-changing world,... (more)
Animal Killer: Transmission of War Trauma From One Generation to the Next
A psychoanalytic process from its beginning to its termination is described to illustrate crucial technical issues in the treatment of individuals with narcissistic personality organization and the... (more)
Blind Trust: Large Groups and Their Leaders in Times of Crisis and Terror
Blind Trust is the culmination of more than three decades of profound immersion in the most pressing sociopolitical conflicts of our time, by the psychoanalyst with probably the most direct... (more)
Sexual Addiction: Psychoanalytic Concepts and the Art of Supervision
Vamik D. Volkan recounts the story of Judy, a woman attempting to solve her early life deprivations through non-chemical addiction. He provides an understanding of the psychology behind such an... (more)
Schizophrenia: Science, Psychoanalysis, and Culture
Kevin Volkan and Vamik Volkan present a comprehensive study of schizophrenia using a psychoanalytic lens on the existing interdisciplinary research. Over the last seventy years, mainstream research... (more)
The Third Reich in the Unconscious
This work examines the effects of the Holocaust on second-generation survivors and specifically describes how historical images and trauma are transferred. (more)
Violence or Dialogue? Psychoanalytic Insights on Terror and Terrorism
Our understanding of terrorism since the events of September 11th 2001 has usually been channelled through the two dimensional lens of religion and politics. This important new work contributes a... (more)
Ghosts in the Human Psyche: The Story of a “Muslim Armenian”
Vamik Volkan examines the impact of past and present historical events, cultural elements, political movements and their mental images on the psyche of individuals. Beginning with the history of the... (more)
A Psychoanalyst on His Own Couch: A Biography of Vamik Volkan and His Psychoanalytic and Psychopolitical Concepts
Vamik Volkan puts himself on his couch and tells his fascinating life story as an international psychoanalyst who has seen and studied humans in many parts of the world to renowned writer,... (more)
Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace
For over thirty years, renowned psychoanalyst Vamik D. Volkan has applied the theories of his profession to societies in conflict, venturing into cauldrons of unrest as observer, mediator, and... (more)
Psychoanalysis, International Relations, and Diplomacy
The author has three goals in writing this book. The first is to explore large-group identity such as ethnic identity, diplomacy, political propaganda, terrorism and the role of leaders in... (more)
Siblings in the Unconscious and Psychopathology: Womb Fantasies, Claustrophobias, Fear of Pregnancy, Murderous Rage, Animal Symbolism, Christmas and Easter "Neuroses", and Twinnings or Identifications with Sisters and Brothers
This book examines adults’ identifications and internal relationships with their siblings’ mental representations. The authors believe that the best way to illustrate clinical formulations and... (more)
Cultural Zoo: Animals in the Human Mind and its Sublimation
‘This book is a major contribution to culture and to the psychoanalytic literature. The authors explore how animals, both wild and domesticated, have powerful symbolic meanings in our psyches,... (more)
Mental Zoo: Animals in the Human Mind and its Pathology
‘Salman Akhtar and Vamik Volkan’s dynamic book, Mental Zoo, takes the reader on a panoramic tour illuminating the rich world of animals in human experience. Here Freud’s rats, wolves, and horses join... (more)
Would-Be Wife Killer: A Clinical Study of Primitive Mental Functions, Actualised Unconscious Fantasies, Satellite States, and Developmental Steps
The author believes that studying a therapeutic process closely from its beginning to its termination is one of the best ways to observe, learn, and teach psychoanalytic concepts. This book is... (more)
A Nazi Legacy: Depositing, Transgenerational Transmission, Dissociation, and Remembering Through Action
This book relates the psychoanalytic journey of a man in his thirties, a grandson of a high-level SS officer, whose case illustrates how individuals can sometimes suffer greatly or cause the... (more)
Searching for the Perfect Woman: The Story of a complete Psychoanalysis
This is not your typical psychotherapy case; it is the story of one man's inner struggle to find peace and happiness in an internal world filled with dangerous father figures and tempting but... (more)
Violence or Dialogue?: Psychoanalytic Insights on Terror and Terrorism
Our understanding of terrorism since the events of September 11th 2001 has usually been channelled through the two dimensional lens of religion and politics. This important new work contributes a... (more)