Psychoanalysis Books
Conversations
Christopher Bollas presents us with a new literary form in his Conversations: twenty-three unique dialogues to captivate, amuse, and inspire.
The psychoanalyst Paula Heimann asked: ‘Who is... (more)
Hidden Histories of British Psychoanalysis: From Freud’s Death Bed to Laing’s Missing Tooth
In this compellingly written and meticulously researched new book, Professor Brett Kahr draws upon extensive unpublished archival sources and upon his four decades of oral history interviews to paint... (more)
In Short: Private Notes of a Psychoanalyst
In Short: Private Notes of a Psychoanalyst is wise, uplifting and inspiring. Salman Akhtar brings his talent for poetic literature to gift us 111 pithy ‘proto essays’ on a wide range of subjects. His... (more)
Herbert Rosenfeld – Then and Now: The Significance of His Work for Contemporary Psychoanalysis
This collection presents new insights into the life and work of Herbert Rosenfeld and his continuing influence on psychoanalytic theory and practice. It includes accounts from both personal and... (more)
Bion: An Introduction
Wilfred R. Bion’s life spanned key events in the twentieth century. Born in India in 1897, he came to boarding school in England aged 8 and at 18 fought in the tanks in World War One. He trained as a... (more)
Psychoanalytic Approaches to Forgiveness and Mental Health
Psychoanalytic Approaches to Forgiveness and Mental Health considers the role of forgiveness in mental life, concerning both forgiving and being forgiven.
Each chapter addresses concepts... (more)
On the Destruction and Death Drives
‘Living with the idea of bearing a death-force fundamentally directed at oneself is hardly easy to admit. It is less so in any case than the idea that we are all murderers, that we are ever ready to... (more)
Three Characters: Narcissist, Borderline, Manic Depressive
It is important to point out that these essays are about character types; it is not to suggest that all borderlines, narcissists or manic depressives are the same. Everyone is an individual and are... (more)
The Analyst’s Torment: Unbearable Mental States in Countertransference
Dhwani Shah moves the focus from using psychoanalytic theory and technique to explore the patient’s mind from a safe distance. Instead, he concentrates on the analyst’s feelings, subjective... (more)
A Dream That Interprets Itself
Sigmund Freud hired Otto Rank as his secretary and funded Rank’s PhD in literature at the University of Vienna. In 1910, at age 26, Rank published ‘A Dream That Interprets Itself’. Freud could not... (more)
The Clinical Paradigms of Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion: Comparisons and Dialogues
This book introduces the psychoanalytic principles of both Winnicott and Bion, to compare the ways in which their concepts evolved, and to show how their different approaches contribute to... (more)
Autistic Phenomena and Unrepresented States: Explorations in the Emergence of Self
With contributions from Anne Alvarez, Joshua Durban, Jeffrey L. Eaton, Bernard Golse, Didier Houzel, Howard B. Levine, Suzanne Maiello, Sylvain Missonnier, Bernd Nissen, Marganit Ofer, and Jani... (more)
Knowing What Psychoanalysts Do and Doing What Psychoanalysts Know
This book, founded on the in-depth discussion of sixteen clinical cases of psychoanalysis, tries to answer the question of what psychoanalysts do when they are practicing psychoanalysis.
The... (more)
Rapprochement Between Fathers and Sons: Breakdowns, Reunions, Potentialities
Following Freud’s rather cold conception of fathers and a relative neglect of their role in psychoanalytic theory is a challenge to continue more recent efforts to develop a psychoanalytically... (more)
Melanie Klein's Narrative of an Adult Analysis
Melanie Klein’s Narrative of an Adult Analysis offers the first detailed account of Melanie Klein’s work with an adult patient, Mr B, which spanned the years 1934 to 1949.
This volume includes... (more)
W.R. Bion as Clinician: Steering Between Concept and Practice
Underpinned by rigorous close readings of his oeuvre, this book provides a comprehensive guide to the development, practice and evolution of Wilfred Bion’s clinical psychoanalytic work.
Starting... (more)
From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude: Cultural, Social and Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being recognised as a priority public health problem and policy issue worldwide, with the effect on mortality comparable to risk-factors such as... (more)
Introducing the Clinical Work of Wilfred Bion
Introducing the Clinical Work of Wilfred Bion takes a fresh approach to this much revered analyst, focusing on the unique contributions to be found in his analytical and supervisorial work and... (more)
Truth: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Realms
This edited collection gathers together erudite and considered contributions from Salman Akhtar, Cobi Avshalom, Brett Clarke, Mali Mann, Gila Ofer, Thomas Ogden, Louis Rothschild, Batya Shoshani,... (more)
Finding the Piggle: Reconsidering D. W. Winnicott's Most Famous Child Case
The Piggle is one of the most famous and beloved child cases in the history of psychoanalysis. A two-year-old girl suffering from terrible nightmares, depression, and self-harming behaviours, the... (more)
One Hundred Years of Psychoanalysis: A Timeline: 1900-2000
A comprehensive timeline of psychoanalysis depicting the major thinkers, theories, publications and events in the history of psychoanalysis throughout the 20th Century, placing them within the wider... (more)
The Soft Power of Culture: Art, Transitional Space, Death and Play
Psychoanalysis is a valuable tool to add to the sciences and the arts: all contain unconscious hidden depths that can become insight and understanding and contribute to humanity as culture. Using the... (more)
The Mystery of Emotions: Seeking a Theory of What We Feel
Psychoanalysis is, above all, the science of the emotions but, as yet, there is no single accepted theory of affects. Instead, there are many, all of them too limited, based, as they are, on... (more)
Tales of Transformation: A Life in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
One hundred (and one) tales to mark Salman Akhtar’s one hundredth book! Divided into eight informative parts – Dr Akhtar’s journey to psychoanalysis; the lessons he learned from his teachers,... (more)
Lessons in Psychoanalysis: Psychopathology and Clinical Psychoanalysis for Trainee Analysts
Inspired by many successful years of teaching to analysts in training, Franco De Masi has selected the most significant lessons and added a few new ones to provide an enriching discussion of... (more)
Coming to Life in the Consulting Room: Toward a New Analytic Sensibility
Ogden sets out a movement in contemporary psychoanalysis toward a new sensibility, reflecting a shift in emphasis from what he calls epistemological psychoanalysis (having to do with knowing and... (more)
Desire, Pain and Thought: Primal Masochism and Psychoanalytic Theory
Desire, Pain and Thought presents a new perspective on primal erotogenic masochism, which Marilia Aisenstein regards as the core of psychoanalytic theory.
Aisenstein distinguishes between... (more)
Misogyny in Psychoanalysis
In psychoanalysis, misogyny hides in plain sight, seemingly above and beyond the usual conventions of workplace etiquette or even a vague awareness of sexism. It is commonplace in psychoanalytic... (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)
Learning from Experience
Wilfred R. Bion was one of the foremost psychoanalysts of his generation, whose work has shaped and enriched psychoanalysis and psychotherapy indelibly. Renowned for some highly original and... (more)