Jean Petrucelli, “Body-States” (Routledge, 2014)

Responding to a significant lacuna in psychoanalytic literature, Jean Petrucelli has put together an impressive book that approaches the eating-disordered patient from interpersonal and relational perspectives. Just as the papers within Body States:Interpersonal and Relational Perspectives on the Treatment of Eating Disorders (Routledge, 2014)animate the twin themes of dissociation and integration, so too do the authors illustrate how these forces shape interpersonal relationships, body-states, self-states, as well as, ultimately, the ability to functionally shift between selves.

One may well agree with Philip Bromberg when he remarks in his Foreword, “Do not be fooled by the format. It is the groundbreaking perspective of Dr. Petrucelli that inspires each chapter, and my use of the word groundbreaking should not be taken lightly.” Indeed, the undeniable coherence of this volume springs from each writer’s affirmation of and convincing argument for the ability of interpersonal and relational analysis to uniquely – and perhaps best – treat eating-disordered patients in an integrative fashion. Such is the groundbreaking thesis Dr. Petrucelli presents in Body-States and discusses at length in her interview.

Bringing together myriad voices, Dr. Petrucelli manages to strike a harmonious but nonetheless sophisticated cord while adding her own voice to the mix. Beginning with a description of the psychoanalytic climate of the 1990s, she goes on to explain how she and others had to fight in order to convince the psychoanalytic establishment to consider eating-disorders seriously. Dr. Petrucelli then examines the notion of “participant-observer” and argues that eating-disordered patients find it especially difficult to exist in the spaces between being the subject-who-desires and the object-who-is/isn’t-desired.

Thoughout the course of our conversation, she addresses not only the aforementioned points but many more, including the origins of eating-disorders as well as the role culture may play in transmitting body-states from mother to daughter. In fact, near the close of this interview, the author expertly handles the question of what sort of wellness can women achieve living in an ill society (where aggressive systems of sexual/body-based objectification pervade)?

Dealing with big questions, Dr. Petrucelli provides answers well worth savoring.

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