Shrinking the News brings together Coline Covington's wide range of articles from her regular column in the online newspaper, The Week. The articles cover current events from October 2008 until December 2010, concluding with more recent articles from 2013.These articles form a fascinating psychoanalytic insight on crime, politics, the economy, sports and stardom, and the quirky, bizarre events and trends that make up our daily life. The widespread popularity of these articles is a testimony to the public's interest in a psychoanalytic view of the world around us and why people do the things they do.

Contains discussion of topics including the Holocaust, slavery, white guilt and the war in Ukraine. Accessibly written, current and engaging. Primarily psychoanalytic perspective but also includes discussion of history, morality and politics.

Following the attacks of September 11th 2001, one of the resounding questions asked was "What would make anyone do such a thing?" The psychological mentality of the suicidal terrorist left a gaping hole in people's understanding. This essential volume represents a much-needed effort to collate and examine some of the material already at our disp

Everyday Evils takes a psychoanalytic look at the evils committed by "ordinary" people in different contexts - from the Nazi concentration camps to Stockholm Syndrome to the atrocities publicized by Islamic State - and presents new perspectives on how such evil deeds come about as well as the extreme ways in which we deny the existence of evil. Concepts of group behaviour, morality, trauma and forgiveness are reconsidered within a multi-disciplinary framework. The psychodynamics of dissociation, and the capacity to witness evil acts while participating in them, raise questions about the origin of morality, and about the role of the observing ego in maintaining psychic equilibrium. Coline Covington examines how we demonize the "other" and how violent actions become normalized within communities, such as during the Rwandan genocide and Polish pogroms. The recent attraction of the millenarian theocracy of the Islamic State also highlights our fascination with violence and death. Covington emphasizes that evil comes about through a variety of causes and is highly contextual. It is our capacity to acknowledge the evils we live with, witness and commit that is vital to how we manage and respond to violence within ourselves and others and in mitigating our innate destructiveness. In conclusion, the book addresses how individuals and societies come to terms with evil, along with the problematic concept of forgiveness and the restoration of good. Everyday Evils blends psychoanalytic concepts together with the disciplines of sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy, theology and studies of violence in order to develop a richer, deeper and more comprehensive understanding of evil. Intending to make the unthinkable thinkable, this book will appeal to scholars from across those disciplines, as well as psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and anyone who has ever asked the question: "How could anyone do something like that?"

Sabina Spielrein is perhaps best known for her love affair with her doctor, Carl Gustav Jung. Their intense therapeutic relationship led to a mutual fascination that lasted, for Spielrein, for the rest of her life. It is debatable whether Spielrein and Jung's relationship was consummated, but it did give birth to some of the most important ideas within psychoanalysis and analytical psychology today, the most notable being that of the death instinct. But what happened to Spielrein and why have her story and work remained in the dark for so many years? This second edition of Sabina Spielrein: Forgotten Pioneer of Psychoanalysis complements the first edition by retaining many of the most important documents about her life and work. Included in this edition are Jung's hospital records of his treatment of Spielrein, Jung's letters to Spielrein following her discharge in 1905, extracts from her personal diary, and her ground breaking paper on the development of language, "The origin of the child's words Papa and Mama." New material includes Spielrein's famous paper, "Destruction as a cause of coming into being", in which she formulates her theory of the death drive, a paper describing her place and contribution within Freud's Vienna Circle, commentaries on the mutual erotic transference between Spielrein and Jung, and a theoretical discussion of her seminal ideas on aggression. This new edition compiles the essential writings of Spielrein along with commentaries by prominent psychoanalytic and Jungian scholars. It is the definitive source book on Spielrein for clinicians, scholars and historians of psychoanalysis. Coline Covington, Ph.D. is a training analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology and the British Psychotherapy Foundation. She is former editor of the Journal of Analytical Psychology and former chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council. She is in private practice in London.

Shrinking the News brings together the author's wide range of articles from her regular column in the online newspaper, The Week. The articles cover current events from October 2008 until December 2010, concluding with more recent articles from 2013. These articles form a fascinating psychoanalytic insight on crime, politics, the economy, sports and stardom, and the quirky, bizarre events and trends that make up our daily life. The widespread popularity of these articles is a testimony to the public's interest in a psychoanalytic view of the world around us and why people do the things they do.

Everyday Evils takes a psychoanalytic look at the evils committed by "ordinary" people in different contexts - from the Nazi concentration camps to Stockholm Syndrome to the atrocities publicized by Islamic State - and presents new perspectives on how such evil deeds come about as well as the extreme ways in which we deny the existence of evil. Concepts of group behaviour, morality, trauma and forgiveness are reconsidered within a multi-disciplinary framework. The psychodynamics of dissociation, and the capacity to witness evil acts while participating in them, raise questions about the origin of morality, and about the role of the observing ego in maintaining psychic equilibrium. Coline Covington examines how we demonize the "other" and how violent actions become normalized within communities, such as during the Rwandan genocide and Polish pogroms. The recent attraction of the millenarian theocracy of the Islamic State also highlights our fascination with violence and death. Covington emphasizes that evil comes about through a variety of causes and is highly contextual. It is our capacity to acknowledge the evils we live with, witness and commit that is vital to how we manage and respond to violence within ourselves and others and in mitigating our innate destructiveness. In conclusion, the book addresses how individuals and societies come to terms with evil, along with the problematic concept of forgiveness and the restoration of good. Everyday Evils blends psychoanalytic concepts together with the disciplines of sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy, theology and studies of violence in order to develop a richer, deeper and more comprehensive understanding of evil. Intending to make the unthinkable thinkable, this book will appeal to scholars from across those disciplines, as well as psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and anyone who has ever asked the question: "How could anyone do something like that?"

In the midst of atrocities, there is the silent presence of the brave individuals who act and stand apart from the crowd, who risk their own lives by rescuing others and, in other ways, by voicing their dissent. The actions of these exceptional individuals raise questions as to why they were able to do what they did and why other people don't. But if we look closer at the histories of these individuals, what we discover is that they may not be as exceptional as we think and that bravery takes different forms in different contexts. Clinical material of a young male patient, a war hero struggling to separate from his refugee parents, illustrates the role of the ego ideal, insofar as it is consonant with innate morality, as the primary factor motivating acts of bravery. The compulsion to act bravely is largely ascribed to conscience, that is, being at one with oneself. Those who act bravely do not feel they have a choice because not to act is experienced as a betrayal of self. As such, bravery is a fundamental assertion not only of the self but of a moral order necessary to sustain the self. As well as bravery, Coline Covington investigates the concept of patriotism and what it truly means - a vital discussion for these turbulent times - and how each of us discovers our identity, as individuals but also within groups. Dr Covington is well placed to explore these questions with her BA in Political Philosophy from Princeton, her Diploma in Criminology from Cambridge, and her PhD in Sociology from LSE. Add to these her analytic training and fellowship of International Dialogue Initiative (IDI), and you are left with a thoughtful, perceptive, and sensitive discussion that is a joy to read.

Who's to Blame? Collective Guilt on Trial presents a psychoanalytic exploration of blame and collective guilt in the aftermath of large-scale atrocities that cause widespread trauma and victimization. Coline Covington explores various aspects of social and collective guilt and considers how both perpetrators and victims make sense of their experiences, with particular reference to group behaviour and political morality. Covington challenges the concept of collective guilt associated with the aftermath of large-scale atrocities such as the Holocaust and examines the moral pressure placed on perpetrators to exhibit guilt as part of a realignment of political power and a process of restoring social morality. Who's to Blame? Collective Guilt on Trial concludes with a chapter-length case study examining Russia's war in Ukraine. Combining psychoanalytic ideas with political, philosophical, and social theory, Who's to Blame? Collective Guilt on Trial will be of great interest to readers interested in questions of collective guilt, blame and the possibilities of atonement. It will also appeal to psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and to academics of psychoanalytic studies, political philosophy, sociology and conflict resolution.

Following the attacks of September 11th 2001, one of the resounding questions asked was "What would make anyone do such a thing?" The psychological mentality of the suicidal terrorist left a gaping hole in people's understanding. This essential volume represents a much-needed effort to collate and examine some of the material already at our disposal as an encouragement to serious thought on this question and other related questions.'If terrorism is not new, what is it about the recent attacks that gives us a sense that something has changed? Is it the scale of the destruction, or the anxiety that we are facing some altogether new uncertainty? Are we in some sense facing a new enemy? ...In reflecting on these and other related questions we may be facing a similar watershed of understanding to that faced by Freud at the end of the Great War...In the absence of progress in our thinking today, political leaders and public opinion will likely turn to previous political and religious ideas, investing in them with a fundamentalist certainty that spells disaster.

Sabina Spielrein is perhaps best known for her love affair with her doctor, Carl Gustav Jung. Their intense therapeutic relationship led to a mutual fascination that lasted, for Spielrein, for the rest of her life. It is debatable whether Spielrein and Jung's relationship was consummated, but it did give birth to some of the most important ideas within psychoanalysis and analytical psychology today, the most notable being that of the death instinct. But what happened to Spielrein and why have her story and work remained in the dark for so many years? This second edition of Sabina Spielrein: Forgotten Pioneer of Psychoanalysis complements the first edition by retaining many of the most important documents about her life and work. Included in this edition are Jung's hospital records of his treatment of Spielrein, Jung's letters to Spielrein following her discharge in 1905, extracts from her personal diary, and her ground breaking paper on the development of language, "The origin of the child's words Papa and Mama." New material includes Spielrein's famous paper, "Destruction as a cause of coming into being", in which she formulates her theory of the death drive, a paper describing her place and contribution within Freud's Vienna Circle, commentaries on the mutual erotic transference between Spielrein and Jung, and a theoretical discussion of her seminal ideas on aggression. This new edition compiles the essential writings of Spielrein along with commentaries by prominent psychoanalytic and Jungian scholars. It is the definitive source book on Spielrein for clinicians, scholars and historians of psychoanalysis. Coline Covington, Ph.D. is a training analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology and the British Psychotherapy Foundation. She is former editor of the Journal of Analytical Psychology and former chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council. She is in private practice in London.