In this masterful and highly engaging introduction to contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice, Jeremy Safran, a leading psychoanalyst and psychotherapy researcher, has prepared an appetizing and immensely satisfying clinical, theoretical and intellectual feast. This gem of a book provides a comprehensive digest of the leading schools of psychoanalytic thought, along with clinical implications and relevant research. One of the unique features of this book is the way in which it contextualizes the origins and evolution of psychoanalytic theory and practice in cultural, historical and political terms. Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Therapies will be an invaluable resource for graduate students in psychology and others interested in absorbing over a century of complex thought organized into a single text. It will also be a compelling and thought provoking read for more experienced psychoanalytic clinicians." --Lewis Aron, PhD, Director, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
Safran uniquely combines four qualities that make this such a compelling and indispensible book. First, as a leading psychoanalytic researcher he gives an authoritative overview of the role (and limitations) of psychoanalysis's contribution to evidence-based psychotherapy. Second, he possesses an enviable cultural breadth which enables him to trace the evolution of particular psychoanalytic perspectives within their sociological and political context. Third, he is an experienced clinician, able to advocate his own particular psychoanalytic approach - broadly speaking relational - while at the same time doing justice to other sometimes competing psychoanalytic modalities. Above all Safran's personal qualities permeate and shine through every paragraph: deep scholarship combined with healthy skepticism, humility and precision, compassion and doggedness, humour and seriousness, love (if one dare use such a word) and realism. A book to be read - almost at one sitting - and recommended to one's friends, students, colleagues, and even enemies! --Jeremy Holmes MD, Visiting Professor of Psychological Therapies, University of Exeter, UK
This is a remarkably important and useful book that will go a long way toward clarifying the many serious misconceptions of psychoanalytic thought that are common in the academic world today. Written by an author who is both a clinician and a leading researcher, it illuminates both the conceptual and the empirical foundations of psychoanalytic thought and practice. Safran examines insightfully the important differences that distinguish different versions of psychoanalytic thought as well as the underlying convergences that make it meaningful to say that these diverse branches of the family tree all share a common paradigm. Of special interest and value is Safran's attention to the social context from which evolving psychoanalytic understandings arose and his discussion of the tensions between subversive and conformist trends in psychoanalysis, both with regard to psychoanalytic orthodoxy and to the broader field of social conservatism or social critique. In an era when mental health treatment is increasingly dominated by the values and interests of powerful for-profit corporations, Safran makes a strong case for a deeper, more complex, and more human approach. --Paul L. Wachtel, PhD, CUNY Distinguished Professor, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City College of CUNY
This gracefully written book synthesizes over a century of psychoanalytic evolution, from Freud and those he inspired to today's most innovative paradigm-shifters. As a leading relational psychoanalyst and psychotherapy researcher, Safran is uniquely situated to cover this formidable terrain. Illustrating his points with compelling case descriptions, he integrates science with art, theory with practice, and guiding ideals with inescapable political realities. This book is an unusually accessible introduction for readers completely unfamiliar with contemporary psychoanalysis and an engrossing, enlightening read for those of us who have benefited for decades from psychoanalytic ideas." --Nancy McWilliams, PhD, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
This is not a good book. It is a great book. There has never been such a sophisticated, yet readable introduction to the theory of psychoanalytic therapy. It is a masterpiece of integration between new and old; clinical and conceptual; and research with practice. The ideas simply jump off the page through carefully crafted illustrations of clinical interactions, empirical observations and applications to overlapping clinical domains. Safran brings a staggering breadth of knowledge, creativity and command of language to the best text on psychoanalytic therapy to date. --Peter Fonagy, PhD, FBA, Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis, University College London
We are all very fortunate that Jeremy Safran was selected to present Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Therapies as part of this series. He has written a superb book that combines theoretical clarity, historical perspective, social and political context, awareness of research, and clinical acumen. With regard to the latter, a DVD showing six sessions of Safran's clinical work accompanies the book. At the risk of stating a cliche, I really do not know of any other book that integrates theory and practice as excellently as this book does. An additional bonus is that Safran s writing is lucid and compelling. This is definitely a book to be read and cherished. --Morris Eagle, PhD, Professor Emeritus, The Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University
