New Books in Psychology

Donald Moss, an author and innovative thinker in psychoanalysis, challenges the status quo in his thought-provoking discussion. He wrestles with the dangers of common sense and the allure of easy answers, revealing moments of personal vulnerability during intense experiences with patients. Moss explores the disruption of self-enclosure through 'erotic thought,' emphasizing how connection can enrich understanding. He also critiques the superficial definitions of creativity, advocating for genuine expression in artistry and the complexities of applied psychoanalysis.

Dhwani Shah, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and Ashis Roy, a psychoanalyst known for his work on Hindu-Muslim relationships, delve into Sudhir Kakar's final book. They discuss how psychoanalysis has historically been Western-centric while emphasizing the importance of incorporating non-Western perspectives. Themes of cultural identity in therapy, maternal influence in Indian culture, and the interplay between mysticism and psychoanalysis emerge, revealing the transformative power of cultural roots and the complexities of identity.

Dr. Heather Murray, an expert in the cultural history of mental illness in the U.S., discusses her work on psychiatric hospitals and their intersection with American culture. She explores how these institutions inadvertently fostered intense observation among patients, challenging traditional views of resignation. The conversation covers the evolution of societal perceptions of mental illness, highlighted through patient creativity and correspondence. Murray also reflects on historical shifts in treatment and the ethical complexities of her research on vulnerable communities.

In this discussion, Dianne Elise, a pioneering author studying creativity and its ties to the analytic field, shares her insights on the erotic dimensions of therapy. She bravely tackles Freud’s query about female desire and critiques traditional psychoanalytic perspectives. Elise reflects on her feminist roots and the interplay between creativity and maternal eroticism, emphasizing the impact of societal norms on women's sexuality. Her exploration of these themes urges a deeper understanding of the feminine experience in psychological practice.

Iris Berent, an insightful author and researcher, discusses the intriguing nature of human cognition and emotions. She explores whether newborns can grasp concepts like numeracy and morality, challenging common misconceptions. Berent delves into the distinction between innate understandings and learned behaviors, linking this to evolutionary insights. Additionally, she critiques the oversimplified views on mental health, emphasizing the need for nuanced understanding over essentialist beliefs. This thoughtful conversation reveals the complexities of reasoning about human nature.

Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate in psychology, and Cass Sunstein, a prominent legal scholar, dive into the controversial aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. They explore the intersection of behavioral economics and legal decisions, revealing how Exxon funded research to portray jurors as irrational. The conversation highlights the profound effects of cognitive biases on public policy and accountability in environmental disasters, alongside stories of local community resilience and transformation within the Alaskan fishing heritage.

Dr. Filipe Copeland, a psychoanalyst known for his work on defense mechanisms, discusses the complexities of denial in the context of painful truths. He introduces two types of denial: Strategic Denial, which involves conscious avoidance, and Psychological Denial, an unconscious response. The conversation touches on how these mechanisms relate to racism and privilege, urging listeners to confront uncomfortable realities. The dialogue emphasizes transforming guilt into positive community actions, highlighting the relevance of psychoanalytic thinking in understanding societal issues.

In Cow Hug Therapy: How the Animals at the Gentle Barn Taught Me about Life, Death, and Everything in Between (New World Library, 2024), Ellie Laks recounts the extraordinary journey that started with her first teacher, Buddha -- not the religious figure, but a rescued miniature Hereford cow. One evening Buddha wrapped her neck around an exhausted and upset Ellie and transferred a singular form of healing and comfort with an incredible impact. Understanding that this was something to be shared with others, Ellie developed Cow Hug Therapy, a groundbreaking approach to emotional healing that has proved effective for trauma, illness, disabilities, addiction, grief, and stress.This colorful and compelling narrative introduces the healing mavens of the barnyard, each with a unique story of being rescued from trauma and treated with love and respect. In their new role at Ellie's Gentle Barn sanctuaries, these animals have transformed lives and ignited breakthroughs and newfound purpose for visitors including a young mother who lost her baby, a suicidal teenager, a wounded serviceman, an open-heart-surgery patient, and many more. A testament to empathy and the mission to heal animals, people, and the planet, Cow Hug Therapy serves as a beacon of hope for all seeking healing and connection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The little-known stories of the people responsible for what we know today as modern medical ethics. In Making Modern Medical Ethics: How African Americans, Anti-Nazis, Bureaucrats, Feminists, Veterans, and Whistleblowing Moralists Created Bioethics (MIT Press, 2024), Robert Baker tells the counter history of the birth of bioethics, bringing to the fore the stories of the dissenters and whistleblowers who challenged the establishment. Drawing on his earlier work on moral revolutions and the history of medical ethics, Robert Baker traces the history of modern medical ethics and its bioethical turn to the moral insurrections incited by the many unsung dissenters and whistleblowers: African American civil rights leaders, Jewish Americans harboring Holocaust memories, feminists, women, and Anglo-American physicians and healthcare professionals who were veterans of the World Wars, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. The standard narrative for bioethics typically emphasizes the morally disruptive medical technologies of the latter part of the twentieth century, such as the dialysis machine, the electroencephalograph, and the ventilator, as they created the need to reconsider traditional notions of medical ethics. Baker, however, tells a fresh narrative, one that has historically been neglected (e.g., the story of the medical veterans who founded an international medical organization to rescue medicine and biomedical research from the scandal of Nazi medicine), and also reveals the penalties that moral change agents paid (e.g., the stubborn bureaucrat who was demoted for her insistence on requiring and enforcing research subjects’ informed consent). Analyzing major statements of modern medical ethics from the 1946–1947 Nuremberg Doctors Trials and Nuremberg Code to A Patient’s Bill of Rights, Making Modern Medical Ethics is a winning history of just how respect and autonomy for patients and research subjects came to be codified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen (Vintage, 2024) is a critical memoir about women, reading, and mental illness. When Suzanne Scanlon was a student at Barnard in the 90s, grieving the loss of her mother—feeling untethered and swimming through inarticulable pain—she made a suicide attempt that landed her in the New York State Psychiatric Institute. After nearly three years and countless experimental treatments, Suzanne left the ward on shaky legs. In the decades after, Suzanne came to understand her suffering as part of something larger: a long tradition of women whose complicated and compromised stories of self-actualization are reduced to “crazy chick” and “madwoman” narratives. She searched for more books, more woman writers, as the journey of her life converged with her journey through the literature that shaped her. Committed is a story of discovery and of questioning linear and neat ideas of recovery. It reclaims the idea of the madwoman as a template for insight and transcendence through the works of Audre Lorde, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Janet Frame, Shulamith Firestone, and others.Suzanne Scanlon is the author of the memoir Committed, which was recently published with from Vintage in Spring 2024. She is also the author of two works of fiction, Promising Young Women (Dorothy, 2012) and Her 37th Year, An Index (Noemi, 2015). Her writing has appeared in Granta, BOMB, Fence, The Iowa Review, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, and elsewhere. Scanlon has a BA from Barnard College and both an MFA and an MA from Northwestern University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology