Jurgen Reeder – författare

At the heart of this book is an ethical question: ''With what legitimacy do I assume the right to interpret my fellow being?'' This question is raised in the context of a critique of a particular hermeneutic interpretation of psychoanalysis, namely, psychoanalysis as an objectifying discipline in which the other (the analysand) is regarded quintessentially as a representation or exterior object to be understood. The author embraces the fundamental intersubjectivity of psychoanalytic experience. Intersubjectivity is viewed as the human encounter within the psychoanalytic setting where there occurs a mutual influencing or acting upon, rather than an encounter guided by an essentially objectivating scientific knowledge. Truth in this conception is not a cumulatively acquired possession, but an always-emerging process coiled within an interpretative dialectic occurring between human beings. This is a thoughtful, nuanced, clearly articulated and challenging book that engages directly with the perceived crisis of psychoanalysis.

About the author: Jurgen Reeder was born in 1947. He is a Ph.D., certified psychologist, training analyst and member of the Swedish Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). In private practice as a psychoanalyst since 1979 and also Associate Professor at the University of Stockholm, Sweden.

Psychoanalysis in Sweden is a condensation of his latest publication in Swedish: Psykoanalys i välfärdsstaten (Psychoanalysis in the Welfare State 2006).

From the introduction: It is my hope that more reports like this will be forthcoming from different countries, with detailed information describing the present situation of psychoanalysis; the problems and challenges at hand, together with their backgrounds; and finally, projections of possible prospects and plans to meet the future. I believe that comparing conditions and learning from one another would provide important input to any group of psychoanalysts struggling with their local version of the crisis so many of us are experiencing.

Jurgen Reeder has published several books and articles on psychoanalysis in Swedish. Previous books in English are Reflecting Psychoanalysis: Narrative and Resolve in the Psychoanalytic Experience (London: Karnac Books, 2002) and Hate and Love in Psychoanalytical Institutions: The Dilemma of a Profession (New York: Other Press, 2004).