Based on recent biographies and the publication of his this contribution reflects on life and work of the psychoanalyst Masud Khan, whose clinical and theoretical brilliance remains dimmed by his disenfranchisement and...Based on recent biographies and the publication of his this contribution reflects on life and work of the psychoanalyst Masud Khan, whose clinical and theoretical brilliance remains dimmed by his disenfranchisement and isolation. It locates Khan's "fall" not only in his personal history but also in several frustrated attempts at analysis, while highlighting that some of Khan's most generative concepts may have served as a guideline for self-cure.
In recent years, suicide has risen at an alarming rate. In 2022, it was the second leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 20-34, and among the top nine causes for people aged 10-64. Provisional data...In recent years, suicide has risen at an alarming rate. In 2022, it was the second leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 20-34, and among the top nine causes for people aged 10-64. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of suicide deaths in 2023 was the highest ever recorded. These deeply distressing statistics highlight an urgent need for continued examination into how best to support patients with suicidal ideation and behavior. This article explores the use of psychoanalytic theory, particularly that of D. W. Winnicott, in treating such patients, with a strong focus on countertransference as a guiding principle for risk assessment, intervention, and treatment. Winnicott's concept of True/False Self is drawn upon as a foundation from which to understand symptom formation. The implementation and efficacy of safety measures is discussed from a psychoanalytic perspective.
This article examines the series of studies edited by Benjamin Karpman under the title "Psychogenetic Studies in Race Psychology," published in between 1931 and 1943. It acknowledges Karpman's interest in marginal subje...This article examines the series of studies edited by Benjamin Karpman under the title "Psychogenetic Studies in Race Psychology," published in between 1931 and 1943. It acknowledges Karpman's interest in marginal subjects and, by extension, in the work and experiences of his Black students at Howard University and highlights his correspondence with Richard Wright. It reflects on Karpman's position as editor, drawing attention to the pitfalls of gestures of accessibility and inclusion from White mentors and from historically White institutions.
This reflection follows the work of a "Freud basher," Frederick Crews, elucidating some of Sigmund Freud's limitations and errors. It argues that a flawed Freud is preferable to the myth of a godlike genius and recommend...This reflection follows the work of a "Freud basher," Frederick Crews, elucidating some of Sigmund Freud's limitations and errors. It argues that a flawed Freud is preferable to the myth of a godlike genius and recommends ways in which to ground the future of psychoanalytic thinking.
Occasioned by the publication of , the text represents exchanges held in the summer of 2024 at the invitation of . It addresses the genesis and the history of the project, and its impact on psychoanalytic rethinking, for...Occasioned by the publication of , the text represents exchanges held in the summer of 2024 at the invitation of . It addresses the genesis and the history of the project, and its impact on psychoanalytic rethinking, formation, and practice. While exploring the potential and the limits of revisioning, it also raises questions about the nature of transmission of psychoanalytic knowledge and about the field's relation to the state of its own standards in the age of Anthropocene.
While developments within psychoanalytic thought have expanded our understanding of the phenomenon of countertransference and its meaning, clinicians are often left with a sense that negative countertransference is a sig...While developments within psychoanalytic thought have expanded our understanding of the phenomenon of countertransference and its meaning, clinicians are often left with a sense that negative countertransference is a sign of a therapist's own "unfinished business." Within the context of clinical supervision, the model of putting countertransference reactions through The Therapist Translator is introduced as a means of exploring how to best give voice to and make use of the emotional responses that arise from within the intersubjective analytic field. In this article, the authors introduce a group process dynamic that utilizes the free association of multiple clinicians to assist in "translating" relatively unformulated material into conscious, linguistic information that can be incorporated into the treatment.
In this reflection the author examines the question of authenticity in the culture and in his own experience as a historian and psychoanalyst. His vantage points are death and totalism, the nature of facts, and the spiri...In this reflection the author examines the question of authenticity in the culture and in his own experience as a historian and psychoanalyst. His vantage points are death and totalism, the nature of facts, and the spiritual and psychological access to truth.
This reflection problematizes the notion and practice of the psychoanalytic conference, a genre that, while useful, also embodies deadness. By first reminding what is at stake in conferences as usually staged-readings of...This reflection problematizes the notion and practice of the psychoanalytic conference, a genre that, while useful, also embodies deadness. By first reminding what is at stake in conferences as usually staged-readings of texts-the reflection is focused on what is at stake in the prospect of psychoanalytic conferences that function psychoanalytically. Using an event he helped imagine and execute as both a matrix of thinking and a source of examples, the author examines the challenges and potentials of new forms of participation, co-existence, and exchange in the psychoanalytic field.
Practitioners interested in the process of helping people change are confronted today with such a burgeoning array of perspectives, theories, and treatment modalities that even the most diligent can feel overwhelmed by t...Practitioners interested in the process of helping people change are confronted today with such a burgeoning array of perspectives, theories, and treatment modalities that even the most diligent can feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. This plethora of approaches calls into question whether there is that can tie them together. Asking if the psychoanalytic field is destined to be splintered into fragments that defy cohesion or if it is possible to generate a way of thinking and working that is more inclusive, this paper takes a historical and integrationist approach, grounded in a clinical focus on mental organization and Leo Rangell's total composite theory. It discusses trends in the development of psychoanalysis and argues for the importance of integration of the findings from neuropsychology and neuropsychoanalysis into psychoanalytic clinical work.
This article conveys the psychoanalyst's hallucinatory experience during a session with a patient who experienced premature birth trauma. Engaging with the patient's primal fears of disappearance and confusion with the o...This article conveys the psychoanalyst's hallucinatory experience during a session with a patient who experienced premature birth trauma. Engaging with the patient's primal fears of disappearance and confusion with the object through hallucinosis initiated the analyst's engagement with her own trauma. The concept of osmotic communication within the patient-analyst relationship is viewed as central to description and understanding of the primal dialogue of two unconscious minds. The filtration of psychic content from the patient's to the analyst's unconscious is facilitated by the semipermeable membrane of analyst's receptivity. As a recipient, the analyst embodies and processes the patient's unmentalized experiences in a transformative manner.
This article revisits W. R. Bion's theory of thinking by highlighting how thinking and linking are attacked. The author's theoretical reflections and clinical vignettes draw attention to the fact that patients may attack...This article revisits W. R. Bion's theory of thinking by highlighting how thinking and linking are attacked. The author's theoretical reflections and clinical vignettes draw attention to the fact that patients may attack the analyst's thinking-function in two particular states: when they experience the analyst as attacking them precisely when the analyst is able to create a link, but one that is too threatening, painful, unsettling and frustrating or in response to the analyst's failure to create the link the patient had been expecting. the analyst deals with and reacts to the complexity of the analytic relationship and to these two kinds of attacks is what will be internalized. In turn, it will affect and the development of a patient's emotional thinking.
This contribution examines the position of expert knowledge in the institutional context of an American preschool and a consulting psychoanalyst's refusal to join in its unquestioned dynamic. It interrogates the shift, b...This contribution examines the position of expert knowledge in the institutional context of an American preschool and a consulting psychoanalyst's refusal to join in its unquestioned dynamic. It interrogates the shift, both theoretical and clinical, occurring if and when the authority of knowledge is supplanted by attention to transference. By arguing that a classroom is the space for the psychoanalytic act and by making a distinction between what it means to be rather than the author opens a perspective for psychoanalysis in extension that the cared-for children may welcome more than the caring adults.