Translated by:
Philip Slotkin

Translated by:
Philip Slotkin

Is psychoanalysis a type of literature? Can telling 'stories' help us to get at the truth? Psychoanalysis as Therapy and Storytelling examines psychoanalysis from two perspectives - as a cure for psychic suffering, and as a series of stories told between patient and analyst. Antonino Ferro uses numerous clinical examples to investigate how narration and interpretation are interconnected in the analytic session. He draws on and develops Bion's theories to present a novel perspective on subjects, such as: psychoanalysis as a particular form of literature; sexuality as a narrative genre or dialect in the analyst's consulting room; delusion and hallucination; acting out, the countertransference and the transgenerational field; and play - characters, narrations and interpretations. Psychoanalytic clinicians and theoreticians alike will find the innovative approach to the analytic session described here of great interest.

This book deals with specific aspects of psychic functioning and development in adolescence. It offers a conspectus of present-day psychoanalytic understanding of the process of adolescence and its vicissitudes. The book is helpful for those interested in the field of adolescent psychoanalysis.

This book postulates that the trigger of the psychotic condition is located in the basic processes which structure the first emotional relations. It presents some of the reasons why patients succumb to the attraction of a course doomed to result in the permanent derangement of their minds.

The central theme of this book is concerned with the controversies on technique between Anna Freud and Melanie Klein in the 1920s and 1930s, and with a clear differentiation between child analysis proper and analytical child psychotherapy. Alex Holder takes into account the historic background in which child psychoanalysis developed, especially World War II and the Nazi regime in Germany. The author also looks at the way child psychoanalysis developed in specific institutions, such as the Hampstead Child Therapy Course in London, and in specific areas, such as the spread of child analysis in the US. The concluding chapter is on the importance of knowledge of child analysis among psychoanalysts working with adults. The differences in the theories of the two "greats" in child analysis, Anna Freud and Melanie Klein, are examined one by one, including such concepts as the role of transference, the Oedipus complex and the superego.

Can the Protomental System provide a new foundation for psychoanalytic theory? Constructing a Mind draws on psychoanalytic theories of mind and recent developments in cognitive science to present the Protomental System, a new and original explanatory theory of the development of the human mind. This book aims to move psychoanalytic theory away from its origins in Freud's theory, towards a model which gives priority to cognition and memory. This, Antonio Imbasciati argues, will make possible a successful and productive integration of psychoanalysis with other areas of psychology. Subjects covered include: The mind as an information-processing system Constructing the system: from fetus to baby, child, and finally adult The caregiver relationship as a decoding system for information processing The paranoid-schizoid metabolism of information Memory of functions and memory traces of affects Internal information generated by the system The depressive position and learning to know Reparation and thought. This thoughtful and thorough account of cognitive development provides a conceptual framework that succeeds in making some of the more complex areas of psychoanalytic theory more intelligible. Constructing a Mind will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and cognitive psychologists, especially those with an interest in neuropsychology and neonatal development.

This book blazes a trail in Freud research. Ilse Grubrich-Simitis, a prominent authority on Freud, examines and deciphers Freud's original manuscripts - which had remained disregarded for decades. From these she analyzes Freud's method of working and points out what the writings reveal of his psychological states, the events in his life, and the development of his thinking over time. The book is at once a study of Freud's creativity as a scientist and writer, an important reference on the texts themselves, and a commentary on previously unexplored aspects of Freud's life and work. Examining many hitherto unknown texts, Grubrich-Simitis provides a fresh and authentic picture of the discoverer of the unconscious at work: observing, listening to his patients, gathering the raw material for his oeuvre, fantasizing, drawing conclusions, drafting, rewriting, and correcting. She refutes the legend of the facility of Freud's production, for the notes, drafts, fair copies, and variants she identifies bear witness to the fact that almost every work actually came into being by a process of consuming hard labor. Grubrich-Simitis's analysis of Freud's manuscripts is flanked by two shorter sections on Freud's printed texts: in one she recounts the history of the editions from the beginnings in Vienna to the present day, and in the other she offers a detailed plan for a new historical-critical edition of his works.

"Psychoanalysis as Therapy and Storytelling "examines psychoanalysis from two perspectives - as a cure for psychic suffering, and as a series of stories told between patient and analyst.
Antonino Ferro uses numerous clinical examples to investigate how narration and interpretation are interconnected in the analytic session. He draws on and develops Bion's theories to present a novel perspective on subjects such as:
- Psychoanalysis as a particular form of literature
- Sexuality as a narrative genre or dialect in the analyst's consulting room
- Delusion and hallucination
- Acting out, the countertransference and the transgenerational field
- Play: characters, narration and interpretations
Psychoanalytic clinicians and theoreticians alike will find the innovative approach to the analytic session described here of great interest.