Views dissenting from the status quo in psychoanalysis are presented in four areas: Psychoanalysis and Early Dissidents, The Psychoanalytic Process, Psychoanalysis and Culture, and Psychoanalysis and Religion. Authors introduce ideas on the analyst's freedom and imagination, the use of humor and play, and the importance of small talk, as well as new perspectives on understanding and working with trauma. The section on psychoanalysis and culture addresses an area rarely considered in psychoanalysis today, regardless of theoretical model. As the global culture becomes more salient, clinicians can ignore the issues of culture with a diversity of patients only to their detriment. The volume's final attention to psychoanalysis and religion frames a new paradigm for understanding mysticism and the relationship to psychopathology to spiritual disciplines and experiences.
