Jason Aronson Publishers – förlag

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In his brilliant introduction on the Mishnah, Jacob Neusner asks:How do you read a book that does not identify its author, tell you where it comes from, or explain why it was written – a book without a preface? And how do you identify a book with neither a beginning nor end, lacking table of contents and title? The answer is you just begin and let the author of the book lead you by paying attention to the information that the author does give, to the signals that the writer sets out.As Neusner goes on to explain, the Mishnah portrays the world in a special way, in a kind of code that makes it a difficult work for the modern reader to understand. Without knowing how to decode the Mishnah, we may read its works without receiving its message.Neusner, one of the world’s foremost Mishnaic scholars, demonstrated that the Mishnah’s own internal logic and structure form a solid foundation on which to build an understanding of this vitally important Jewish work. Using examples of how the Mishnah’s language, logic, and discourse associate and categorize behaviors, events, and objects, Neusner opens the Mishnah to readers who would not otherwise be able to grasp its most fundamental concepts.Since the Mishnah forms the basis of both the Babylonian and the Palestinian Talmuds (which are, in Neusner’s elegant terms, “the core curriculum of Judaism as a living religion”), study of the Mishnah is essential to an understanding of Judaism. Drawing on his own new translation of the Mishnah and displaying the enthusiastic dedication that has sparked a whole new body of Mishnaic research, Neusner allows readers with no previous background to join Jews who have studied, analyzed, and delighted in the wisdom of Mishnah for centuries.In addition to giving us a thorough exploration of the Mishnah’s language, contents, organization, and inner logic, Neusner also provides us with a broad understanding of how it communicated its own world view – its vision of both the concrete an spiritual worlds. The Mishnah: An Introduction gives us a tour of this sacred Jewish text, shedding light on its many facets – from its view of life to its conception of God and His relation to our world.

The Bahir is one of the oldest and most important of all classical Kabbalah texts. Until the publication of the Zohar, the Bahir was the most influential and widely quoted primary source of Kabbalistic teachings.The Bahir is quoted in every major book on Kabbalah, the earliest being the Raavad's commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, and it is cited numerous times by Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban) in his commentary on the Torah. It is also quoted many times in the Zohar. It was first published around 1176 by the Provence school of Kabbalists; the first printed edition appeared in Amsterdam in 1651.The name Bahir is derived from the first verse quoted in the text (Job 37:21), "And now they do not see light, it is brilliant (Bahir) in the skies." It is also called the "Midrash of Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana," particularly by the Ramban. The reason might be that Rabbi Nehuniah's name is at the very beginning of the book, but most Kabbalists actually attribute the Bahir to him and his school. Some consider it the oldest kabbalistic text ever written.Although the Bahir is a fairly small book, some 12,000 words in all, it was very highly esteemed among those who probed its mysteries. Rabbi Judah Chayit, a prominent fifteenth-century Kabbalist, writes, "Make this book a crown for your head." Much of the text is very difficult to understand, and Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570), head of the Safed school of Kabbalah, says, "The words of this text are bright (Bahir) and sparkling, but their brilliance can blind the eye."One of the most important concepts revealed in the Bahir is that of the Ten Sefirot, and careful analysis of these discussions yields much of what will be found in later kabbalistic works, as well as their relation to anthropomorphism and the reason for the commandments. Also included is a discussion of reincarnation, or Gilgul, an interpretation of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom, and the concept of Tzimtzum, the s

Interest in Jewish mysticism is, in our generation, widespread and growing. From Hebrew schools to Hollywood, people of all backgrounds and levels of knowledge are pursuing the subject. Books, magazines, journals, and classes are rapidly growing in number.One result of this burst of interest and popularization of Jewish mysticism is the problem of misinformation. The need for reliable source material has become crucial.This four-volume work by Professor Joseph Dan is a monumental event in the publishing history of English-language reference books on the subject of Jewish mystical thought and practice. Professor Dan's credentials are of the highest order. The recipient of the Israel Prize (considered to be Israel's highest honor), Joseph Dan is the Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and continues to be a visiting professor at some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world.

Compulsive buying is a serious, often secretive affliction, with profound emotional, social, occupational, and financial consequences. As many as a quarter of us have problems with buying, and studies suggest that between one and six percent of the population are full-fledged compulsive buyers. I Shop,Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self brings together, for the first time, the most important thinking about this disorder. As more and more therapists encounter compulsive buying (whether as a presenting problem or revealed in the course of ongoing therapy), the need for an in-depth clinical understanding of the disorder has grown. Dr. Benson has responded admirably to that need with a practical, comprehensive, and wonderfully readable work. While the book focuses a wide-angled lens on the many aspects of compulsive buying, it emphasizes understanding the disorder as a desperate search for self in people whose identity is not securely established. It defines the syndrome of compulsive consumption, examines the range and variations within it, discusses assessment and associated disorders, and delineates successful treatment modalities. Offering insights from a broad spectrum of therapies–psychopharmacology, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral treatment, couples and group therapy, self-help, and financial counseling–this book is an indispensable toolbox for the increasing number of therapists who see patients with shopping, buying, or debting problems.A Jason Aronson Book

Treating borderline patients is one of the most challenging areas in psychotherapy because of the patient's extreme emotional expressions, the strain it places on the therapist, and the danger of the patient acting out and harming himself or the therapeutic relationship. Many clinicians consider this patient population difficult, if not impossible, to treat. However, in recent years dedicated experts have focused their clinical and research efforts on the borderline patient and have produced treatments that increase our success in working with borderline patients. Transference-Focused Therapy (TFP) is psychodynamic treatment designed especially for borderline patients. This book provides a concise and comprehensive introduction to TFP that will be useful both to experienced clinicians and also to students of psychotherapy. TFP has its roots in object relations and it emphasizes that the transference is the key to understanding and producing change. The patient's internal world of object representations unfolds and is lived in the transference with the therapist. The therapist listens for and makes use of the relationship that is revealed through words, silence, or, as often occurs in the case of individuals with some borderline personality disorder, acting out in subtle or not-so-subtle ways. This primer offers clinicians a way to understand and then use the transference and countertransference for change in the patient.

The public has a right to know that when they go to a therapist, they are almost certain to be given a psychiatric diagnosis, no matter how mild or normal their problems might be. It is unlikely that they will be told that a diagnosis will be written forever in their chart and that alarming consequences can result solely from having any psychiatric diagnosis. It would be disturbing enough if diagnosis was a thoroughly scientific process, but it is not, and its unscientific nature creates a vacuum into which biases of all kinds can rush. Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis is the first book ever published about how gender, race, social class, age, physical disability, and sexual orientation affect the classification of human beings into categories of psychiatric diagnosis. It is surprising that this kind of book is not yet on the market, because it is such a hot topic, and the negative consequences of psychiatric diagnosis range from loss of custody of a child to denial of health insurance and employment to removal of one's right to make decisions about one's legal affairs. It is an unusually compelling book because of its real-life relevance for millions of people. Virtually everyone these days has been a therapy patient or has a loved one who has been. In addition, psychiatric diagnosis and biases in diagnosis are increasingly crucial portions of, or the main subject of, legal proceedings. This book should sit next to every doctor's PDR, especially given the skyrocketing use of psychoactive drugs in toddlers, children, and adolescents, as well as in adults, and especially because receiving a psychiatric label vastly increases the chances of being prescribed one or more of these drugs.A Jason Aronson Book

This book is a comprehensive reference on both the structure and content of the clinical interview and its authors present the strategies and fundamental knowledge required to conduct the clinical interview with different kinds of patients and for specific psychopathologies. It provides a thorough overview on clinical and diagnostic interviewing with state-of-the-art presentations of significant theoretical orientations (psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic/existential, and family systems) as well as information on frequently encountered psychopathologies.The book stresses the idea that the clinical interview is controlled by the therapist and develops in a phase-sequenced progression along predictable lines. Clinical interviews flow from a theoretical stance on the part of the clinician, are usually semi-structured to the extent that areas are probed consistent with official diagnostic criteria and with know aspects of suspected psychopathologies, including co-morbidities, and include an understanding of the patient's personality and possible personality disorders that may complicate treatment of Axis I disorders or which may be the focus of treatment itself.This book elucidates this process and may serves as a primary source for practitioners who want to know more about the process of clinical interviewing as well as a useful text for those students who are in the process of learning clinical interviewing.

Social fears are among the most common forms of anxiety in our society. Social phobia, the clinical syndrome, can seriously impact a person's life, increasing the risk of depression, substance abuse, and suicide, and reducing opportunities for social interaction, sustained relationships, and careers. The good news is that empirical evidence shows treatment for social phobia can be highly effective in producing change, and treatment that emphasizes the learning of new skills produces more change than simple education and/or medication. Rapee and Sanderson furnish a practical treatment program whose components are based on empirically validated techniques.

Meditation and Judaism is a comprehensive work on Jewish meditation, encompassing the entire spectrum of Jewish thought—from the early Kabbalists to the modern Chassidic and Mussar masters, the sages of the Talmud, to the modern philosophers. Both a scholarly, in-depth study of meditative practices, and a practical, easy to follow guide, Meditation and Judaism is for anyone interested in meditating the Jewish way. The word meditation calls to mind the traditional, obvious associations that society has accumulated. Meditation and Judaism attempts to broaden our view of meditation, demonstrating that meditation is prevalent within so many of the common Jewish practices. While there are many paths that lead in the same direction, the ultimate destination of meditation is a metamorphosis into a more G-dly and spiritual person. This scholarly work is sourced in authentic Jewish thought, yet it has been written in a manner that will appeal to the modern reader. It is an enlightening read for the scholar and the layman alike.

Violence, substance abuse, and sexual behavior present some of the most troubling and confusing issues in American society today. Many questions occupy our minds: Are violent acts ever acceptable? Should one be allowed to consume alcohol or tobacco? Is intercourse outside of marriage acceptable? Is birth control, within or without a relationship? Not surprisingly, there are no easy answers to these or other contentious social issues. Instead, individual opinions run the spectrum. And when one tries to introduce the relevance of religion to these issues, they can become even more complicated. Daniel Kohn, an experienced Rabbi and teacher, brings the voice of Judaism to these and many other moral questions. Through insights gleaned from the Tanakh, the Talmud, and the four-thousand year old Jewish tradition, Sex, Drugs and Violence in the Jewish Tradition provides the reader a thoughtful insight into how one of the world's oldest religions can answer some of our most current questions. Far from a book of prescriptive instruction, Sex, Drugs and Violence in the Jewish Tradition elevates current debates on these issues to a higher level of moral discourse.

Therapists are always willing to write and talk about cases, but somewhat reluctant to expose themselves and their experiences. In this book, however, sixty psychotherapists of various backgrounds, disciplines, and levels of experience talk openly about themselves and their work. Divided into four main areas - Practice, Theory, Personal Experiences, and the State of the Field - the book covers such subjects as fees, schedules, cancellations, medication, termination, the effects of managed care, supervision, attitudes toward patients, and questions about unethical colleagues, to name a few. Every therapist is curious about what other professionals do, feel, and believe. Patients also want to know what their therapists think and feel when working with them, and what it's like to be a psychotherapist. Both kinds of readers will find answers here.

Building upon the theoretical work of Ferenczi, Fairbairn, and Berliner, the author describes four basic relational patterns in the lives of abused children: the reliving of abusive relationships, either as victim or as perpetrator; identification with the aggressor; masochistic self-blame; and the seeking of object contact though sex or violence. The interweaving of these patterns creates what Dr. Prior calls "relational dilemmas." According to him, these four basic relational patterns are held in place by the child's profound fear of falling into primitive states of unrelatedness and consequent annihilation anxiety. For example, the abused child believes that victimization by or identification with the bad object, no matter how horrible that may be, is preferable to the psychic disintegration that complete nonrelatedness creates. Dilemmas of this nature tear apart the child's psyche, leading to unstable and tormented models of self, other, and relationship.Object Relations in Severe Trauma provides sensitive understanding of childhood traumatization and a conceptual and technical framework for the treatment of patients—both children and adults—who have suffered from it.

Getting Started provides answers to questions that confront all beginning therapists, such as How do I start? What do I say? What if the client challenges me? What if the client is silent? How do I deal with fees? What about confidentiality? How should I end the sessions? It also answers those fundamental general concerns, like: how does psychotherapy work? How can I be helpful to my patients? Many books claim to be simply written and easy for an inexperienced therapist to understand. This one really is. It is user friendly and written with a minimum of jargon. Dr. Joel Kotin gives numerous examples of common situations and problems that therapists regularly encounter and hen tells the reader how to approach them. Dr. Kotin's tone is reassuring and supportive throughout.

In this fine book, Dr. Steven A. Frankel paints the portraits of his collaborating patients vividly, graphically and with consummate compassion. Treatment for Frankel is never a discussion and surely not one filled with the therapist's abstinence; it is a vital, interactive and changing experience for both partners. He is no less skillful in engaging and educating the reader. His review of psychoanalytic theories and research is, in itself, a prodigious and productive education. It is tempting to suggest that this important contribution to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy is one illustration of theory finally catching up to sensitive and effective practice. Frankel closes his lovely book with thanks to the reader 'for coming on this part of my journey.' Shirley Cooper, LCSW

This study examines the often difficult process of being a parent and sustaining a partnership in a changing world. It focuses on the connections between parenting and partnering relationships at a time when the foundations of family life are being brought into question.

A study showing the rewards of therapy by removing a patient's defences; and by encouraging them, with the therapist's help, to face painful issues such as fear of intimacy, loss, long-term depression, and sexual disfunction. A commentary critiques the interaction and explores responses.

Renowned child therapist Clark Moustakas demonstrates how play can be used to affirm and liberate children_children who suddenly become troubled in their school or family lives and can work out their anger and fear in just a few sessions, as well as children who are seriously disturbed and must struggle to achieve emotional maturity, respect for others, and faith in themselves.

Written by two authors with a combined experience of more than fifty years in the residential treatment of severely aggressive-and often traumatized-children, this book has proven invaluable to new as well as seasoned child practitioners. The chapters cover the nuts and bolts of play therapy with this extremely challenging clinical population, including the therapeutic alliance, aims of play therapy with aggressive children, setting limits on destructive and obtrusive behaviors, typical play themes of aggressive children, and developing distancing and displacement through playful action and through teaching, modeling, and structuring action play. Other chapters cover such topics as: how to create more mature defenses and calming strategies; the role of interpretation; the use of spontaneous drawings as a bridge to fantasy play; specific drawing techniques to create access to the inner world of children; how to teach and model pro-social skills and the language of feeling; and how to facilitate affect expression and modulation, contained reenactment of trauma, and children's ability to mourn tangible as well as intangible, unacknowledged and invisible losses. Later chapters cover the therapeutic process and techniques to facilitate termination. The authors introduce the Play Therapy Decision Grid, which is intended to guide the therapist into the levels of therapy best suited for the child at any given point based on the child's resources and the anxiety engendered by the therapy.

This innovative book provides therapists with a practical guide for treating patients from other cultures. Basing her material on extensive clinical work with patients from many ethnic backgrounds, Dr. Seeley shares insights on the problems of using a second language, recognizing cultural material presented in sessions, and making specific changes in clinical practice to accommodate cultural differences. This is a timely and well-conceived model of psychotherapy that enhances cross-cultural clinical work.

The loss of virginity is irreversible. Even God, who performs all sorts of miracles, parts the seas, raises the dead, cannot, according to our religious traditions, reverse its finality. Even in today's sexually permissive world, the loss of virginity is an important developmental milestone that marks the passage to adult sexuality. On one side of the threshold lies Peter Pan's never-never land, a world of perpetual childhood. On the other lies adult sexuality, procreation and parenthood, and ultimately death. This text focuses on the meanings of the loss of virginity. Using examples from myths, literature, and their extensive clinical practice, the authors demonstrate the importance of this milestone in understanding the psychology of women as well as the ways in which men relate to women.

From the start of life, all of us strive to achieve two goals: intimacy with another person and discovery and expression of our own identity. All too often, however, we experience these goals as conflicting. Being and Loving is an outgrowth of Dr. Horner's work as a teacher and psychotherapist. In this book, she focuses on the image of self and of others formed in the first three years of life and guides readers down a carefully chosen path that leads to workable solution to their problems. To all those who have experienced frustration and despair born of conflict between being and loving, this book says, "Give it another try."

Building on children's natural inclinations to pretend and reenact, play therapy is widely used in the treatment of psychological problems in childhood. 101 Favorite Play Therapy Techniques incorporates methods developed to elicit the best responses from children by therapists representing cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and other orientations, and selected for their practicality, specificity, and originality. Arranged for easy reference, each bearing a succinct description and targeted application, the interventions illustrated_including Fantasy, Storytelling, Expressive Arts, Game Play, Puppet Play, Play Toys and Objects, and Group Play_have been used with success to address such common problems as low self-esteem and unresolved fear and anger, as well as more serious difficulties arising from loss, abuse, and sexual trauma. All the contributors share the enthusiasm and respect of editors Kaduson and Schaefer for the special value of play therapy in reaching and healing young patients. Together, they have created an eclectic, accessible, and comprehensive resource for students and professionals that will also support parents seeking to open new lines of communication with their children. A Jason Aronson Book

Editor Carolyn Lennox characterizes the redecision therapist as a director in an improvisational theater. Guided by the client's personal contract for change, the therapist helps the client select and rewrite old scripts in which he or she was cast as victim. By keeping the dialogue moving and assisting the client in confronting negative messages, the therapist supports revision of the last act so that the self can be experienced as triumphant protagonist and the victory can be carried over into everyday life.This compendium of contributions from twenty-two experienced redecision therapists first addresses issues of theory—how to negotiate a clear contract for change, how to identify client impasses, how to access the client's potential for creativity (what transactional analysis calls the "natural child")—and then illustrates applications of the theory in the treatment of depression, anxiety, bulimia, PTSD, and so forth in individuals and groups and in private, HMO, and hospital settings. Closing chapters discuss redecision therapy training and supervision.The book's thoroughly accessible approach to brief, action-oriented therapy will be welcomed by students and practitioners alike as what Dr. Lennox gracefully terms "teachable and learnable magic."

Fantasies of omnipotence grow out of feelings of helplessness. We are all born helpless, completely dependent on others for nurturance and survival, and we all must face the ultimate annihilation of the self at the end of life. While fantasies of omnipotence help us to cope with these painful acts, they may also interfere with our ability to engage reality and deal with life. This important new book addresses all aspects of omnipotence, from the merger fantasies of the baby who feels like an extension of the powerful parent, to the rigid defence omnipotent fantasies of the frightened borderline patient, to the soothing spiritual and religious feelings that help many accept loss and mortality. Contributions by noted authors like Otto Kernberg, Jack and Kerry Kelly Novick, Henry Krystal, Paul Ornstein and Steven Ellman should make this a valuable resource to all clinicians and other students of human behaviour.

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Methuselah is the elderly patient and Echo is the admiring soul, the therapist, who gives Methuselah back to himself by joining, mirroring, and reflecting in the course of creating a treatment alliance. Dr. Bouklas brings transpersonal, psychodynamic, and behavioral approaches to bear on the existential problems of old and late old age, promoting a vision of healthy narcissism in the frail and ill elderly, of regression in the service of transcendence. He demonstrates how to implement and integrate these approaches in the spirit of increasing patient self-awareness, and his vivid examples reveal the inspiration and wisdom to be gained by working with the elderly.

In Using DSM-IV, Dr. Anthony LaBruzza and Jose Mendez-Villarrubia offer the needed supplement to DSM-IV. Their book, a veritable road map for DSM-IV, explains the technical language and hierarchical classifications of DSM-IV while it demonstrates how the system can be adapted to a clinical approach. In cogent prose replete with examples, the authors show how to use DSM-IV to arrive at accurate diagnoses that include, rather than forsake, dynamic conceptualizations of clients' psychological functioning. The authors review each DSM-IV diagnostic category, helping the reader to see what clients with a specific pathology look like, what is actually needed to qualify for the disorder, and what similar disorders to rule out. Because theirs is a fundamentally humane and clinical approach to mental illness, LaBruzza and Mendez-Villarrubia suggest that any interview, even a mental status exam, should be a helpful experience for the client. They show how to embed a diagnostic interview in an ongoing clinical process and thus relate to and understand each client as unique, even while finding the right diagnostic category for him or her. This attunement to individuals also enables LaBruzza and Mendez-Villarrubia to consider issues of cultural diversity. Both authors have extensive experience working with Hispanic populations and have included an in-depth chapter on assessing Hispanic clients. In this new era of managed health care, the demand for uniform, accurate diagnoses has never been higher. Facility with the DSM-IV system is imperative. But so too is a thoughtful understanding of clients. Using DSM-IV is the one resource that can help clinicians combine descriptive and dynamic orientations to clients to produce a truly comprehensive diagnosis. As an explanatory and inclusive manual of DSM-IV, this is the essential book.

The author encourages therapists to approach parents as individuals (not just as parents), and to maintain the same professional perspective in dealing with them that informs the rest of their work. Illustrative case material draws on a considerable range of presenting pictures, from parents who are themselves therapists to those who have no frame of reference for treatment, from parents who seek help when a healthy youngster hits a developmental impasse to those whose lives are shattered by severe pathology and psychic isolation in their children. Integrating theory and technique to provide the practitioner with the tools to elicit collaboration from parents instead of obstruction, Siskind makes it possible for child therapists to sustain the interest, curiosity, neutrality, and empathy that are preconditions to effective treatment.