'I do not know of any psychoanalyst who would not advocate the need for “psychoanalytic ethics”, but the most pertinent question is how this need fits into the concrete practice of psychoanalysts. Viviane Chetrit-Vatine’s book is organized around this essential question. It is not enough to proclaim loudly and clearly the need for ethics; the conditions that make it possible must also be described, and these cannot overlook the question of what is known as countertransference. This question is usually linked to the weight of the impact of the analyst’s past emotional life and to those aspects of it that have not been sufficiently integrated into their psychic functioning. There is undoubtedly some relevance in this way of thinking about countertransference, but it is perhaps not the most essential issue, as the author shows in her book. Countertransference is also fundamentally organized by the theoretical models of psychic functioning to which the psychoanalyst subscribes as well as by the place given in these models to the subject’s unique history; and within that by the place given to the impact of the mode of presence, response and reaction of the significant objects with which the subject had to construct themselves. All of this occupies a central place from the very beginning and throughout the subject's early life: no one is self-generated. This is why the author’s choice of theoretical references is essential in order to ensure that ethics is not just a pipe dream but can become a reality in practice.'René Roussillon, Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, University of Lyon, France, training member, Société Psychanalytique de Paris and Groupe Lyonnais de Psychanalyse Rhône-Alpes. Recipient, Bouvet Prize (1991) and the Sigourney Award (2016) 'In her brave, brilliant, and ambitious new book, Viviane Chetrit-Vatine offers readers a rich tableau of thought on the very heart of psychoanalytic praxis: its irreducibly ethical and transcendental dimensions. Ethical Upheaval, Creative Upheaval is a work of great originality; it is also an exemplary instance of collective study, as Chetrit-Vatine gives us vivid descriptions of how she and her colleagues at the annual French Speaking Analysts Conference (CPLF) engaged key psychoanalytic questions with rigor and extraordinary inventiveness. In this sense, we get a bird’s-eye view of the workings of a vibrant psychoanalytic community in which the most important questions in psychoanalysis are addressed. Thus, in addition to Chetrit-Vatine’s fruitful explorations of key notions such as matricial space, enigmethical messages, ethical upheaval, and subjectal moments, she also shows the reader a particular ethics of care for the other, in this case, for her colleagues of the CPLF. Ethical Upheaval, Creative Upheaval is both a seminal contribution to psychoanalytic theory and practice, and also an anthropology of a psychoanalytic community at work.'Mitchell Wilson, Editor Emeritus, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Training and Supervising Analyst, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis'Viviane Chetrit-Vatine’s new book is an extraordinary achievement on many fronts. It presents a contemporary elaboration rooted in French psychoanalytic scholarship, which may be novel for some readers but will richly reward them. The central theme of this elaboration is the Ethical, a dimension that expands psychoanalytic ethics immeasurably beyond its usual restricted focus on violations. It draws on “matricial space”, the unique and early confluence of seduction and responsibility that marks being human. It also presents a remarkable expansion of object relations through the ethical responsibility that stems from the encounter with the Other, joining Levinas’ philosophy with fundamental psychoanalytic principles and bearing deeply on the psychoanalytic encounter. The originality and depth of these amalgamations are certain to engage and expand the horizons of readers of all psychoanalytic persuasions.'Shmuel Erlich, Training and Supervising Analyst, Israel Psychoanalytic Society, Founding Member, OFEK, The Israeli Association for the Study of Group and Organizational Processes, and Chair, PCCA.
