This book explores the profession of independent advocacy through a history of the practice, and provides an empirical study of its emergence in London. While advocacy has long been associated with professions such as social work and mental health nursing, this book delivers a unique perspective of advocacy through the lens of faith and culture. Using real life examples and insights from service users, advocates and spiritual care practitioners in the advocacy and chaplaincy sectors, the fascinating results offer proposals for enhanced theory, training and practice in independent advocacy. It will be of great interest for students and professionals engaged in advocacy or spiritual care.

Psychoanalysis in the Age of Totalitarianism provides rich new insights into the history of political thought and clinical knowledge. In these chapters, internationally renowned historians and cultural theorists discuss landmark debates about the uses and abuses of 'the talking cure' and map the diverse psychologies and therapeutic practices that have featured in and against tyrannical, modern regimes. These essays show both how the Freudian movement responded to and was transformed by the rise of fascism and communism, the Second World War, and the Cold War, and how powerful new ideas about aggression, destructiveness, control, obedience and psychological freedom were taken up in the investigation of politics. They identify important intersections between clinical debate, political analysis, and theories of minds and groups, and trace influential ideas about totalitarianism that took root in modern culture after 1918, and still resonate in the twenty-first century. At the same time, they suggest how the emergent discourses of 'totalitarian' society were permeated by visions of the unconscious. Topics include: the psychoanalytic theorizations of anti-Semitism; the psychological origins and impact of Nazism; the post-war struggle to rebuild liberal democracy; state-funded experiments in mind control in Cold War America; coercive 're-education' programmes in Eastern Europe, and the role of psychoanalysis in the politics of decolonization. A concluding trio of chapters argues, in various ways, for the continuing relevance of psychoanalysis, and of these mid-century debates over the psychology of power, submission and freedom in modern mass society. Psychoanalysis in the Age of Totalitarianism will prove compelling for both specialists and readers with a general interest in modern psychology, politics, culture and society, and in psychoanalysis. The material is relevant for academics and post-graduate students in the human, social and political sciences, the clinical professions, the historical profession and the humanities more widely.

The Budapest School of Psychoanalysis brings together a collection of expertly written pieces on the influence of the Budapest (Ferenczi) conception of analytic theory and practice on the evolution of psychoanalysis. It touches on major figures Sandor Ferenczi and Michael Balint whilst concurrently considering topics such as Ferenczi's clinical diary, the study of trauma, the Confusion of Tongues paradigm, and Balint's perspective on supervision. Further to this, the book highlights Jacques Lacan's teaching of Ferenczi, which brings a fresh perspective to a relatively unknown connection between them. The book highlights that the Hungarian analysts, influenced by Ferenczi, through their pioneering work developed a psychoanalytic paradigm which became an alternative to the Freudian tradition. That this paradigm has become recognised and admired in its own right underlines the need to clearly outline, as this book does, the historical context and the output of those who are writing and working in the tradition of the Budapest School. The contributions to this volume demonstrate the widespread and enduring influence of the Budapest School on contemporary psychoanalysis. The contributors are amongst the foremost in Budapest School scholarship and the insights they offer are at once profound as well as insightful. This book is an important read for those practitioners and students of psychoanalysis who wish for an insight into the early and developing years of the Budapest School of Psychoanalysis and its impact on contemporary clinical practice.

The Budapest School of Psychoanalysis brings together a collection of expertly written pieces on the influence of the Budapest (Ferenczi) conception of analytic theory and practice on the evolution of psychoanalysis. It touches on major figures Sandor Ferenczi and Michael Balint whilst concurrently considering topics such as Ferenczi's clinical diary, the study of trauma, the Confusion of Tongues paradigm, and Balint's perspective on supervision. Further to this, the book highlights Jacques Lacan's teaching of Ferenczi, which brings a fresh perspective to a relatively unknown connection between them. The book highlights that the Hungarian analysts, influenced by Ferenczi, through their pioneering work developed a psychoanalytic paradigm which became an alternative to the Freudian tradition. That this paradigm has become recognised and admired in its own right underlines the need to clearly outline, as this book does, the historical context and the output of those who are writing and working in the tradition of the Budapest School. The contributions to this volume demonstrate the widespread and enduring influence of the Budapest School on contemporary psychoanalysis. The contributors are amongst the foremost in Budapest School scholarship and the insights they offer are at once profound as well as insightful. This book is an important read for those practitioners and students of psychoanalysis who wish for an insight into the early and developing years of the Budapest School of Psychoanalysis and its impact on contemporary clinical practice.

Updated, reorganized, and streamlined to focus squarely on ethical decision making in counseling and psychotherapy and in the practice of specialties in counseling. The fifth edition of this text is unparalleled in helping counselors-in-training use ethical decision-making processes as a foundation for approaching ethical and legal dilemmas in clinical practice. Newly organized and streamlined to eliminate redundancies, this textbook presents multiple new chapters that reflect the latest developments in counseling specialty areas. This new edition also features an overview of ethical decision-making models, principles, and standards. Abundant instructor resources, reflecting changes to the fifth edition, include an Instructor's Manual, Power Points, Sample Syllabi, and a Test Bank. Through its alignment with the CAPREP standards, the new edition continues to deliver a comprehensive overview of ethical decision-making models in each chapter, along with step-by-step processes for applying these models to a wide range of clinical cases. Case scenarios specific to specialized practice issues provide insight into practice with different client populations. Additionally, the text considers office, administrative, electronic, technology, and related issues, and the role of values in counseling addressing contemporary emphasis on ethical treatment of value conflicts that are crucial to the operation of all practices. Abundant features highlight key content and reinforce learning, including bold-faced key terms with definitions, boxed content showcasing crucial information, and reflection questions to stimulate rigorous thinking. Purchase includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers. New to the Fifth Edition: Reorganized and streamlined for ease of use Includes updated reference to codes of ethics from ASCA and AMHCA Addresses shifts in the structure of specialty practices including the merger of CORE and CACREP Provides several new chapters on clinical specialties and supervision issues Focuses on ethics in counseling specialties: clinical mental health; school; couples, marriage and family; addictions; career; rehabilitation; and group Addresses ethical practice of the new clinical rehabilitation counseling specialty-the only text to do so Offers student learning activities in each chapter with additional practice scenarios available for downloading Provides access to appropriate codes of ethics via chapter-by-chapter links Delivers updated case scenarios Key Features: Covers all counseling specialties and their respective ethical codes aligning with recent developments in the profession Describes how to avoid, address, and solve serious ethical and legal dilemmas to prepare counselors-in-training for complex situations they may encounter Includes objectives, case studies, references, key terms, learning activities and reflection questions embedded in chapter content Highlights important information with boxed callouts Addresses key office, administrative, electronic, technology, and other practice issues Provides Appendix with web links to codes of ethics in counseling and specialties Includes Dr. Cottone's Social Constructivism Decision-Making Model and Dr. Tarvydas's Integrative Decision-Making Model

Based on the only evidence-based randomized controlled trial yet undertaken in patients with severe and enduing anorexia nervosa, Managing Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa uses the results of that trial to present a new paradigm for treatment. Moreover, this informative new text assembles the leading scientists across three continents to provide a comprehensive overview and new paradigm for treatment and stimulate interest in the development of new psychosocial approaches. Students, clinicians, and researchers in the field of eating disorders will find this edited volume a valuable reference handbook in the clinical management of patients with anorexia nervosa.

This text provides new clinicians with an overview of the tasks involved in behavioral health treatment as it is practiced in community-based training organizations. The text's specific focus is on the application of theoretical and academic knowledge to clinical work as a psychotherapist or case manager, with a case example that follows treatment from the first session through termination. It contains an overview of all aspects of treatment that are required in these organizations, which are the primary settings for practicum, internship, and post-graduate training.

"A thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of how our criminal justice system should handle an increasingly common mental illness known as multiple personality disorder."
"--Georgetown Law Journal"

"A provocative study of a controversial topic. . . . Saks' analyses are always clear and incisive, comprehensible even when their premises and reasoning are unfamiliar and their conclusions surprising."
"--Psychiatric Services"

"Saks focuses exclusively on multiple personality, a controversial and only recently recognized mental disorder. The philosophical underpinnings that frame the legal questions of culpability, punishment, and competence to stand trial are examined and provide the background for the author's proposals for applicable legal rules. Highly recommended."
"--Library Journal"

The idea that multiple personalities can exist within the same body has long captured the Western imagination. From Three Faces of Eve to Sybil, from Pyscho to Raising Caine, from 60 Minutes to Oprah to One Life to Live, we are captivated by the fate of multiples who, divided against themselves, wreak havoc in the lives of others.

Why do we find multiple personality disorder (MPD) so fascinating? Perhaps because each of us is aware of a dividedness within ourselves: we often feel as if we are one person on the job, another with our families, another with our friends and lovers. We may fantasize that these inner discrepancies will someday break free, that within us lie other personalities--genius, lover, criminal--that will take us over and render us strangers to our very selves.

What happens when such a transformation literally occurs, when an alter personality surfaces andcommits some heinous deed? What do we do when a Billy Milligan is arrested for a series of rapes and robberies, of which the original personality, Billy, is utterly oblivious? What happens when a Juanita Maxwell, taken over by her alter personality, Wanda, becomes enraged and commits a murder which would horrify Juanita? Who really committed these deeds? Are alter personalities people? Are they centers of consciousness which are akin to people? Mere parts of a deeply divided person? Who should held accountable for the crimes? Which is more appropriate--punishment or treatment?

In Jekyll on Trial, Elyn R. Saks carefully delineates how MPD forces us to re-examine our central concepts of personhood, responsibility, and punishment. Drawing on law, psychiatry, and philosophy, Saks explores the nature of alter personalities, and shows how different conceptualizations bear on criminal responsibility. A wide-ranging and deeply informed book, Jekyll on Trial is must reading for anyone interested in law, criminal justice, psychiatry, or human behavior.

Any research that involves the use of the Rorschach or focuses on the nature of the Rorschach must be framed in the context of the basic principles that mark any scientific investigation. However, most texts concerning research design or data analysis do not deal directly with many of the unusual issues that confront investigators who use the Rorschach in their research. The nature of the test and test procedures are somewhat different than for most psychological tests, and, often, these special characteristics become critical when research designs are formulated. Similarly, some of the data of the tests are quite different from the customary distributions yielded by other psychological tests. Thus special care must be exercised when considering the variety of tactics that might might be used in analyzing the test data. This text is unique in that it is specific to the Rorschach. Bringing together experts on Rorschach research, this volume presents in-depth treatments of every facet of methodology -- from design to analysis -- as well as more conceptual issues. It is designed to aid investigators in contending effectively with the many difficult challenges that are often encountered in Rorschach research. This work adds to the information already available to the accomplished researcher as well as provide some enlightenment for the Rorschach research novice. It dispels the notion that rote methodology or analyses can be applied routinely to studies involving the Rorschach. And it helps to improve the quality of investigations in which the test is included, and contribute in some way to the improvement of the overall research yield in the Rorschach community.

Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services weaves together different strands of mental health work undertaken in one inner-city Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service by professionals working in a range of ways. In particular, it provides examples of how an urban CAMH service has been responsive to, and influenced by, local circumstances, resources and knowledge. The book explores the relationship between professionals and the community context, which provides the background to the lives of individual service users and the families they serve, and how this relationship is integral to the development of a responsive service. The chapters cover a range of settings and approaches, addressing the social, cultural, political and community contexts impacting on children, young people and families. In this way Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services explores challenges and issues emerging in a responsive approach to child and family work in all community settings whether they be urban, suburban or rural. Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is intended for mental health and social care professionals involved in therapeutic, social and pastoral work with children, young people, families and communities. The book will be of interest to policy-makers, mental health and social care professionals, health visitors, general practitioners, nurses and midwives , as well as to trainees in these professions including trainee clinical psychologists, social workers or psychoanalytic and systemic psychotherapists. It will also appeal to those interested in responsive communities and critical approaches to therapeutic interventions in mental health work, psychology, psychotherapy and counselling.

Instructional resource for mental health clinicians on using cognitive behavioural therapy with adolescents and young adults This book complements author Paul Stallard's Think Good, Feel Good and provides a range of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy resources that can be used with adolescents and young adults. Building upon that book's core strengths, it provides psycho-educational materials specifically designed for adolescents and young people. The materials, which have been used in the author's clinical practice, can also be utilized in schools to help adolescents develop better cognitive, emotional and behavioural skills. Thinking Good, Feeling Better includes traditional CBT ideas and also draws on ideas from the third wave approaches of mindfulness, compassion focused therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. It includes practical exercises and worksheets that can be used to introduce and develop the key concepts of CBT. The book starts by introducing readers to the origin, basic theory, and rationale behind CBT and explains how the workbook should be used. Chapters cover techniques used in CBT; the process of CBT; valuing oneself; learning to be kind to oneself; mindfulness; controlling feelings; thinking traps; solving problems; facing fears; and more. Written by an experienced professional with all clinically tested material Specifically developed for older adolescents and young adults Reflects current developments in clinical practice Wide range of downloadable materials Includes ideas from third wave CBT, Mindfulness, Compassion Focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Thinking Good, Feeling Better: A CBT Workbook for Adolescents and Young Adults is a "must have" resource for clinical psychologists, adolescent and young adult psychiatrists, community psychiatric nurses, educational psychologists, and occupational therapists. It is also a valuable resource for those who work with adolescents and young adults including social workers, nurses, practice counsellors, health visitors, teachers and special educational needs coordinators.

Decision Making near the End of Life provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments that have impacted decision-making processes within the field of end-of-life care. The most current developments in all aspects of major underlying issues such as public attitudes, the impact of media, bioethics, and legal precedent provide the background information for the text. The authors examine various aspects of end-of-life choices and decision-making, including communication (between and among family, medical personnel, the dying person), advance directives, and the emergence of hospice and palliative care institutions. The book also explores a variety of psychosocial considerations that arise in decision-making, including religion/spirituality, family caregiving, disenfranchised and diverse groups, and the psychological and psychiatric problems that can impact both the dying person and loved ones. Case studies and first-person stories about decision-making, written by professionals in the field, bring a uniquely personal touch to this valuable text.

Functional Neuromarkers for Psychiatry explores recent advances in neuroscience that have allowed scientists to discover functional neuromarkers of psychiatric disorders. These neuromarkers include brain activation patterns seen via fMRI, PET, qEEG, and ERPs. The book examines these neuromarkers in detail-what to look for, how to use them in clinical practice, and the promise they provide toward early detection, prevention, and personalized treatment of mental disorders. The neuromarkers identified in this book have a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity higher than 80%. They are reliable, reproducible, inexpensive to measure, noninvasive, and have been confirmed by at least two independent studies. The book focuses primarily on the analysis of EEG and ERPs. It elucidates the neuronal mechanisms that generate EEG spontaneous rhythms and explores the functional meaning of ERP components in cognitive tasks. The functional neuromarkers for ADHD, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are reviewed in detail. The book highlights how to use these functional neuromarkers for diagnosis, personalized neurotherapy, and monitoring treatment results.

Religion and Psychoanalysis in India questions the assumptions of an established scientific, evidence-based global mental health paradigm by examining the practices of faith-based healing. It proposes that human beings demonstrate a dual loyalty: to science as faith and faith as science, both of which get reconfigured in the process. In this particular context, science and faith are deployed in ways that are not only different but at times contrary to mainstream discourses of science and religion, and faith healing becomes a point where these two discourses collide head-on in negotiating cultural values and practices. The book addresses key questions, such as: What is the value of 'faith healing' in understanding distress and treatment in different cultural contexts? What is a critical psychological perspective on faith and religious systems? What challenges do alternative religious practices pose to critical psychology? How should we re-imagine clinical work in a context marked by science and religion? Situated between 'West' and 'East', between the global mental health movement and local faith-based practices in India, the book addresses a wide audience that includes students and researchers in psychology, cultural and medical anthropology, the sociology of religion, cultural theory, postcolonial theory, and the sociology of science. It will also appeal to policy-makers and practitioners interested in the work of NGOs and the legal frameworks driving mental health movements in India.

This book explores psychosis as knowledge cut off from history, truth that cannot be articulated in any other form. It gives a nuanced picture of delusion as a repair of language itself, following Freud and Lacan in historic and contemporary forms of psychotic art, writing and speech.

Integrated Approaches to Drug and Alcohol Problems: Action on Addiction provides a pathway through the field of addiction, giving a clear description of points along that path, from the beginning of problematic use of drugs and alcohol, to treatment, support, recovery and reintegration in society. The book illustrates the principle of integrated approaches to tackling the rise in problems with addiction. Practical applications of these approaches are demonstrated in the work of UK charity Action on Addiction, one organisation which has been influenced by, and contributed to, the research and practice of the authors. The interventions illustrated within Integrated Approaches to Drug and Alcohol Problems demonstrate how the findings of international research can be brought together to provide effective services for individuals, families and communities suffering from addiction-related problems. Some of the foremost internationally recognized addiction researchers, clinicians and trainers from the UK, USA and Canada have contributed chapters to this book. It will be of interest to all those working in the field of drug and alcohol addiction, including counsellors and therapists, as well as GPs, nurses and public health officers. Integrated Approaches to Drug and Alcohol Problems will also have general appeal to anyone studying Psychology and Mental Health courses at undergraduate or postgraduate level, plus those affected by addiction.

Co-occurring psychiatric conditions are extremely common among people who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Oxford Handbook of Autism and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Conditions presents a compilation of the latest research in this area, summarized by internationally renowned experts. Each chapter presents an overview of the problem or disorder including information on prevalence in ASD and in the general public and a synthesis of the research on etiology, diagnostic best practices, and evidence-based intervention approaches. Case studies bring these concepts to life, and each chapter concludes with suggestions for future research directions in order to further develop our scientific and clinical understanding of the particular comorbidity. Given the fact that comorbidity is often a chronic and pervasive concern, this Handbook takes a lifespan approach, with each chapter touching on developmental aspects of the targeted problem, from early childhood through adulthood. The concluding section of the Handbook is comprised of content on clinical considerations and research approaches, including chapters on medications commonly used to treat co-occurring conditions, strategies for managing crisis situations in this clinical population, and community partnerships within an implementation science framework.

In this volume, Elena Garralda and Jean-Philippe Raynaud aim to contribute to advancing awareness of child and adolescent mental health within an international framework that gives special consideration to problems arising in different contexts around the world and through expert views supported by empirical evidence and considering clinical implications. There is increasing recognition worldwide of the importance of child and adolescent mental health problems, of the distress and impairment they can cause to children and their families, and of the markedly adverse effects on education and on adult psychiatric adjustment when left untreated. Globally, however, services to attend to these problems in children are uneven and patchy. There is a need to advance awareness of child and adolescent mental health and of factors that influence them. Chapters address the effects on child mental health of issues ranging from secular changes in family composition in both western and eastern countries, rapid industrialization, poverty, deprivation, and adoption, to refugee status and aboriginal life. It considers emerging issues, such as cyber addiction, PTSD, ADHD across different cultures, and the autistic "epidemic." They discuss new service developments (Eastern Europe, paediatric liaison services) in the context of traditional methods (traditional Chinese medicine).

Division TEACCH, a statewide program in North Carolina, serves people with autism and their families through the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. TEACCH was one of the first, and remains one of the most comprehensive and effective, programs in the world working with this population. Over the years the puzzling and unusual behavior problems these children present have been among the most interesting and challenging of the enigmas parents and professionals confront. This book is designed to provide information on these behaviors that will be relevant and useful. As with the preceding books in our series, Current Issues in Autism, this volume is based in part on one of the annual TEACCH Conferences held in Chapel Hill in May. The books are not simply published proceedings of the conference papers. Instead, conference participants are asked to develop full-length chapters around their presentations. Other international experts, whose work is beyond the scope of each conference but related to its major theme, are asked to contribute chapters as well. These volumes provide the most up-to-date information on research and professional practice available on the most important issues in autism.

Positive psychology exploded into public consciousness 10 years ago and has continued to capture attention around the world ever since. The movement promised to study positive human nature, using only the most rigorous scientific tools and theories. How well has this promise been fulfilled? This book evaluates the first decade of this fledgling field of study from the perspective of nearly every leading researcher in the field.
Scholars in the areas of social, personality, clinical, biological, emotional, and applied psychology take stock of their fields, while bearing in mind the original manifesto and goals of the postive psychology movement. They provide honest, critical evaluations of the flaws and untapped potential of their fields of study. The contributors design the optimal future of positive psychology by addressing gaps, biases, and methodological limitations, and exploring exciting new questions.

This book traces the theoretical history of psychosomatics in psychoanalysis, and with it the ways that psychoanalytically-trained clinicians have tried to understand and treat patients with complex psychosomatic symptoms. It offers a rethinking of the mind-body relationship in psychoanalysis, eschewing past dichotomies between the psychological and the corporeal, and today's either-or distinctions between symbolizing and non-symbolizing patients. Theoretical and clinical issues are considered from a broad and integrative perspective. Psychosomatic patients' best interests are served neither by an indiscriminate embrace of dazzling new findings, nor by discarding established ways of understanding them. This volume exemplifies an approach that takes advantage of the rich history of the past as well as exciting new work in the neurosciences. The opening historical chapter delineates the evolution of the field of psychoanalytic psychosomatics.

Religion and Psychoanalysis in India questions the assumptions of an established scientific, evidence-based global mental health paradigm by examining the practices of faith-based healing. It proposes that human beings demonstrate a dual loyalty: to science as faith and faith as science, both of which get reconfigured in the process. In this particular context, science and faith are deployed in ways that are not only different but at times contrary to mainstream discourses of science and religion, and faith healing becomes a point where these two discourses collide head-on in negotiating cultural values and practices. The book addresses key questions, such as: What is the value of 'faith healing' in understanding distress and treatment in different cultural contexts? What is a critical psychological perspective on faith and religious systems? What challenges do alternative religious practices pose to critical psychology? How should we re-imagine clinical work in a context marked by science and religion? Situated between 'West' and 'East', between the global mental health movement and local faith-based practices in India, the book addresses a wide audience that includes students and researchers in psychology, cultural and medical anthropology, the sociology of religion, cultural theory, postcolonial theory, and the sociology of science. It will also appeal to policy-makers and practitioners interested in the work of NGOs and the legal frameworks driving mental health movements in India.

Case Analyses for Abnormal Psychology, Second Edition uses case studies to explore the etiology, biology, and dynamics of psychiatric disorders in the DSM-5. Readers will learn about the new classifications and treatments for disorders while simultaneously reading the personal history of each consumer both before and during the development of each case. Every case ends with a section on the particular disorder presented, as viewed from a biological perspective. This updated edition bridges advances in abnormal psychology and neuroscience in understanding mental illness.

Contemporary psychoanalytic thinking about the interdependence of subjectivity and intersubjectivity has reenvisioned the analytic process, and with it the very nature of creative and engaged psychoanalytic listening. Yet few systematic writings on psychoanalytic listening or technique provide comprehensive instruction that would prepare the analyst for the kind of analytic listening needed to participate imaginatively in this sort of intersubjective experience.Offering a short course in analytic listening, Creative Listening and the Psychoanalytic Process provides a guide for the clinical uses of imaginative literature. Outside the psychoanalytic literature, extraordinary pieces of imaginative literature exist that provide the kind of experience in analytic listening that can guide clinicians in their work with patients. Certain works of fiction create textured, sensory worlds in which complex characters possessing shifting states of consciousness live within fluid emotional atmospheres. In this book, Fred Griffin demonstrates that by entering the worlds that original writers create in their texts, the psychoanalytic therapist will learn to attend more closely to varying emotional states that generate nuanced, multidimensional views of the analysand's internal and relational worlds. He illustrates how these works capture more fully the sensory experience encountered by psychoanalysts when taking in what the patient communicates within the analytic space. Creative Listening and the Psychoanalytic Process presents case material alongside selected passages from works of fiction written by a range of creative writers, each of which stimulates analytic sensibility about this clinical experience. A conceptual framework is provided that makes these and other original works of fiction more accessible for these purposes. This book will be essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, as well as professors and graduate students studying psychoanalysis and literature. It will also appeal to literary scholars and those teaching and practicing in the field of narrative medicine.

The African American Experience: Psychoanalytic Perspectives edited by Salman Akhtar brings together the contributions of distinguished mental health professionals and scholars of humanities to offer a multifaceted perspective on the transgenerational trauma of slavery, the hardship of single parent families, the ruthlessness of anti-black racism, and the crushing burden of poverty and social disenfranchisement on the African American individual. The book also sheds light on the resilience of spirit, the dignity of perseverance, and the glow of talent that is widespread in this group. It contains penetrating and informative biographical essays on Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Mohammad Ali, Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey. Such discourse on human greatness is balanced by the considerations of daily joy and anguish on clinical and societal levels. This wide-ranging and nuanced volume on the history, culture, and psychosocial struggles of African American people fills an important gap in the literature on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.