New Books in Psychoanalysis

Renowned psychoanalyst Dr. Nancy McWilliams discusses psychoanalytic supervision in her latest book. She explores the role of supervisors in developing clinical skills, navigating power dynamics and diversity, and addressing ethical dilemmas. The podcast covers topics such as the importance of free association, setting boundaries in therapy, and the unique vulnerability of supervisees. It also examines challenges in counseling and therapy, including legal issues and therapist-patient suicide.

Mary Edwards, expert on Jean-Paul Sartre, discusses Sartre's existential psychoanalysis and his unique method of understanding individuals while respecting their freedom. They explore the possibility of combining Sartre's existentialism with psychoanalysis, discuss Sartre's method in psychoanalysis and its application to Jean Genet and Charles Baudelaire, and analyze Flaubert's self-formation process through Sartre's existential psychoanalysis. They also delve into Sartre's theories on imagination, the implications of the new theory presented in the book, and the importance of understanding others for self-analysis.

Jamieson Webster, a New York-based psychoanalyst and author of 'Disorganisation & Sex,' dives deep into the tensions between desire and the complexities of sexual identity. She discusses how psychoanalysis can break away from traditional dyad models to foster broader social change. Webster challenges the norms of training institutions and stresses the need for institutional self-scrutiny. She also explores the duality of contemporary sexuality, linking it to societal catastrophes while advocating for a nuanced approach to sexual expression and psychoanalytic thought.

Dr. Jane Goldberg, a psychoanalyst and author of *Wired for Why*, delves into the intricate relationship between thought, emotion, and identity. She argues that memory is an illusion and discusses how narrative and curiosity shape the brain. Goldberg sheds light on why B students often outperform A students, emphasizing creative paths, and criticizes society's trend of medicating emotional experiences. Moreover, she shares insights on the integration of psychoanalysis in cancer care and the idea that some patients can psychologically reverse their illness.

Psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster discusses the revised translation of Françoise Dolto's "Dominique: The Case of an Adolescent." She explores the unique structure of Dolto's work, featuring session fragments and rich insights into the therapeutic process. Topics include the intricate dynamics between mother and child, the concept of authority in therapy, and the impact of identity on adolescent development. Jamieson also touches on Dolto's relevance today regarding gender and family diversity, highlighting her innovative contributions to child psychoanalysis.

In this insightful discussion, Ashis Roy, a psychoanalyst and author, delves into the complexities of Hindu-Muslim relationships, exploring themes of intimacy and societal rejection. He shares his unique approach to researching forbidden desires across religious boundaries, highlighting the emotional costs of such unions. The conversation touches on how personal and political histories shape individual identities, the challenges of participant recruitment, and the implications of gender dynamics within these couples. Roy advocates for celebrating love beyond societal prohibitions.

Step into the unsettling world of E.T.A. Hoffmann with translator Peter Wortsman to explore “The Sandman”—a tale that haunted Freud enough to spark his famous psychoanalytic analysis of “The Uncanny,” examining familiar things that unsettle and disturb us for no clear reason. What makes this bizarre story so deeply disturbing, even today? And how does Hoffmann’s genius, in all of his writing, continue to shape the way we think about the unfamiliar, and the blurry line between human and machine? Our guest for this show is New York-born Peter Wortsman, a renowned translator of Kafka, Kleist, Musil and others, playwright, and author, whose travel memoir Ghost Dance in Berlin won the Independent Publishers Book Award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis

Todd McGowan, a theory and film scholar from the University of Vermont, dives into Jacques Lacan's complex ideas in his new book. He emphasizes the importance of clarity, revealing how Lacan's concepts relate to desire and social dynamics. McGowan critiques Lacan's obscurantism, illustrating how desire is shaped by lack. He connects Lacanian theory to consumerism, discussing how capitalist structures influence our wants. Additionally, he explores the intersection of maternal subjectivity with the unconscious, all while sharing anecdotes of Lacan's intellectual milieu.

Jon Mills, an Emeritus Professor of Psychology & Psychoanalysis, dives deep into his latest work exploring civilization's fate. He discusses how Hegel's philosophy intertwines with psychoanalysis, and shares concerns about population growth leading to societal collapse. Mills examines the doomsday argument, questioning if technological advancements can mitigate natural limits. He reflects on unconscious tendencies toward self-destruction, the nature of evil, and the complex dynamics of empathy in countering destructiveness. Ultimately, he urges readers to confront systemic existential threats.

The Queerness of Psychoanalysis: From Freud and Lacan to Laplanche and Beyond (Routledge, 2024) is an exploration of psychoanalysis' often complicated and fraught history with thinking about queerness, as well as its multifaceted heritage. Throughout the chapters, the contributors write about psychoanalysis’ relationship with queerness, the ways in which queerness is represented in the psychoanalytic archive, and how that archive endures in the present and creates various disruptive effects both within and beyond the clinic. Each chapter from the global cohort of contributors approaches queerness from a different angle: they consider the literary aspects of queerness’ presence in the analytic world; the clinical complexities of working with queer and trans people; metapsychological inclusion and exclusion of queerness, and many other subjects. Taken together these contributions constitute a decisive intervention into the psychoanalytic canon. They are an unabashed demand for accepting and furthering the representation and inclusion of queer, and in particular trans, people within psychoanalysis. It is a call for action to utilize and deepen psychoanalysis’ enormous explicatory powers and bring together voices that have so far been denied a unity of expression, while critically reevaluating psychoanalysis’ historical relationship to queerness. Each chapter proposes different ways of thinking and writing psychoanalytically, with many of the papers queering the format and forms of expression commonly found in academic writing, through their use of dialogues, conversations, or other experimental forms of writing. Written almost exclusively by analysts, scholars, and activists who identify as trans and/or queer, this important volume puts theory into practice by centering queer and trans voices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis