Oedipus Complex

Poul Rohleder is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist in private practice in central London, UK. He is a Senior Member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex, UK.

‘Poul Rohleder has gifted the mental health profession with a superb volume, exploring the much-overlooked and often misunderstood concept of the Oedipus Complex. Written with much clarity and concision and with tremendous historical accuracy, the author has investigated numerous psychoanalytical perspectives and, also, has explored the impact of contemporary views regarding gender and sexual orientation. I recommend this book warmly to every single psychological worker.’Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London; Visiting Professor of Psychoanalysis and Mental Health, Regent’s University London; and Honorary Director of Research, Freud Museum London.‘This is a refreshingly straightforward appraisal of one of Freud’s most controversial claims. Those who have eyes to see cannot deny the existence of the facts that Freud described, but how are we to conceptualize them? Poul Rohleder helps you find your own answer to this surprisingly important question.’Prof Mark Solms, member of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and editor of The Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.‘Poul Rohleder’s introduction to one of the most debated and controversial psychoanalytic concepts provides a comprehensive yet succinct overview of the Oedipus Complex. Taking the reader from Freud’s original formulation right through to contemporary reformulations of the Oedipus Complex, this text is a core resource for psychoanalytic training programmes.’ Prof. Alessandra Lemma, Visiting Professor, Psychoanalysis Unit, UCL and Consultant, Anna Freud Centre.

• 1. Introduction 2. Freud’s theory of the Oedipus Complex 3. Klein and the Oedipal situation 4. Feminist Critiques of the Oedipus Complex 5. Perspectives from French Psychoanalysis 6. Relational Perspectives on the Oedipus Complex 7. Challenging Heteronormativity 8. Culture and the Oedipus Complex 9. Oedipus Now