Psychoanalysis and Women Series – serie

This book presents a wide range of psychoanalytic writing on masculinity and femininity from British, European, and North and South American perspectives, exploring how masculine and feminine aspects are structured and evolve in the child, adolescent and adult. The authors address from a background of considerable clinical experience how masculinity and femininity manifest in the body, gender, sex, sexuality and the life-cycle, and cover aspects both productive and generative, constricted and defended. The importance of the parenting couple and their bond with the child in the forming of masculine and feminine idenitities is emphasized. Beginning with an overview of the development of masculinity, the developmental perspective is explored in how adolescents discover their sexuality and come to 'own' their sexual bodies. Different types of disturbance are explored including the early defence mechanism of disavowal of difference. The development of the masculine and feminine aspects of the psychoanalyst and how these aspects influence analytic work are considered, in particular the role of the male analyst in transformations of masculinity. The analyst must have sufficiently worked through his/her own mental bisexuality, to have internalized a good parental couple in order to be able to listen to the mental bisexuality of the patient. The book ends with a glimpse of the young child's struggle with issues of sexuality and difficulties in constructing a gender identity. The authors aim to explore what constitutes masculinity and femininity in an accessible way not only for psychoanalytic psychotherapists but also for the wider public.

Women whose mothers were not called upon to achieve in a man's world have a difficult time seeing themselves as powerful enough to do that. Identifying with mighty women of the past and of the present culture can help them to permit themselves to achieve more than their mothers did. This book provides several such myths from ancient and modern cultures, from both Western and Eastern traditions, each of which is a standard for a particular aspect of female power and all of which can provide that power for women now. Among the aspects of women's power are Super Girl, Warrior Woman, Evil Temptress, Protective Mother and Provider. This book is useful for therapists to read themselves and/or to give to their patients when they suffer from fantasies of the bad mother who does not want to be surpassed or the weak mother who cannot protect, or the therapist who wants to keep the woman patient in a weak and needy position.

This latest volume in the Psychoanalysis and Women Series for the Committee on Women and Psychoanalysis of the International Psychoanalytical Association presents and discusses theoretical and clinical work from a number of authors worldwide. It clearly demonstrates that there is no typical development of homosexuality and that each individual's object-choice can only be grasped by examining their psychic history. While the therapeutic work requires no special adaptation of technique, countertransferential difficulties which may arise and stem in part from cultural representations about gender differences are fully explored. The book includes a unique retrospective view by Ralph Roughton over three time points which charts changes in considering the analyst's response within the wider cultural context.

Recent societal changes have challenged long-established concepts in psychoanalysis, including the Oedipus complex, parental functions, and male and female psychosexuality. 'Postmodern families', based on sexual and emotional exchanges independent of gender, now include homoerotic couples who adopt children, or who create them through assisted fertilisation, as well as single parent families and blended families. A number of highly-renowned Latin American psychoanalysts have drawn attention to the urgency of revising theoretical and clinical concepts in the light of these new scenarios. In this book, they open up ideas which cover familiar territory of current concerns in psychoanalytic work, as well as other little-explored areas, with the emphasis on evolving sexualities and new experiences of parenthood. The first section revisits psychoanalytic theories, particularly parental functions in the area of sexuality and gender. The following section discusses new family configurations, and vicissitudes of the desire to have a child in men and women, with the authors presenting some psychic consequences for parents in therapy who have turned to assisted fertilisation.

This important book provides a bridge between psychoanalytic perspectives and socio-cultural issues to shine a spotlight on the experiences of women in India today.Women’s well-being and security has often depended upon their gender positioning while other binaries like rural-urban, class, and caste have also played a crucial role globally and especially in India. Historically, women have been subjected to various forms of oppression that include sex selective abortions, domestic violence, bride burning for dowry, and acid attacks. Threats to women’s security have recently increased with progressive polarization and hardening of socio-political and cultural ideologies. This book assesses how women’s lives are impacted by these social and cultural conventions and stigma, including ideas around motherhood, religion, intimacy and femininity itself, and the psychological implications these have. Topics include the seduction of religion, motherhood in contemporary times, intimacy and violence, and fundamentalist states of mind in the clinical space. While the book echoes a regional specificity, it simultaneously resonates a backdrop of global change of affairs that has its impact on ideological freedom and the concept of inclusivity in terms of gender, race, culture, and politics across the world. For this comprehensive perspective, the effort is to create a platform of authors comprising psychoanalysts, social scientists, scholars from the liberal arts discipline, as well as social activists.In a country where women have been historically subjected to both psychological and physical oppression, this timely and original book will interest a range of scholars interested in gender, mental health and contemporary Indian society, as well as clinicians in the field.

This important book provides a bridge between psychoanalytic perspectives and socio-cultural issues to shine a spotlight on the experiences of women in India today.Women’s well-being and security has often depended upon their gender positioning while other binaries like rural-urban, class, and caste have also played a crucial role globally and especially in India. Historically, women have been subjected to various forms of oppression that include sex selective abortions, domestic violence, bride burning for dowry, and acid attacks. Threats to women’s security have recently increased with progressive polarization and hardening of socio-political and cultural ideologies. This book assesses how women’s lives are impacted by these social and cultural conventions and stigma, including ideas around motherhood, religion, intimacy and femininity itself, and the psychological implications these have. Topics include the seduction of religion, motherhood in contemporary times, intimacy and violence, and fundamentalist states of mind in the clinical space. While the book echoes a regional specificity, it simultaneously resonates a backdrop of global change of affairs that has its impact on ideological freedom and the concept of inclusivity in terms of gender, race, culture, and politics across the world. For this comprehensive perspective, the effort is to create a platform of authors comprising psychoanalysts, social scientists, scholars from the liberal arts discipline, as well as social activists.In a country where women have been historically subjected to both psychological and physical oppression, this timely and original book will interest a range of scholars interested in gender, mental health and contemporary Indian society, as well as clinicians in the field.

This book introduces the Euripides' Medea fantasy as an unconscious determinant of psychogenic sterility, a fantasy that forms an unrecognized part of the self-representation. It is addressed to people who are interested in womanhood, its fortunes and misfortunes, creativity and destructiveness.

This book provides an overview of the events of intimacy, a chronicle of the erogenous events that occur in a woman's body. It discusses the concept of psychoanalysis keeping very close to the body—a body that feels, vibrates, and is repressed, a body that depends on its fellow beings.

'Human identity, sexual identity, primary and secondary identification, object choice, narcissism - all of these lie on a continuum with homosexuality, transsexualism, transvestism, heterosexuality and asexuality. Concepts on sexuality and gender are outlined anew in an interplay of theoretical and clinical networks, with the aim of increasing t

Mothers in the twenty-first century confront us, both in clinical practice and in theory, with fascinating challenges that to some extent subvert the traditional maternal ideal: the motherhood of single women, motherhood in which the mother-child relationship seems minimal (in the case of very busy working mothers), teenage motherhood i

Incest is a universal taboo that is found throughout the history and mythology of the majority of societies. A neglected subject in more recent psychoanalytic work, this book was inspired by the COWAP European Conference of 2003. On Incest explores the theories and reasons behind incest, using themes such as gender identity and perversi

Studies on Feminity is the second volume in a unique series edited by the author for the Committee on Women and Psychoanalysis of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Providing a forum for exploration and discussion of diverse issues relating to gender constructs, sexuality, and sexual identity, the series brings together an int

This book shows how violence against woman can be seen, known and represented on the world stage and in psychoanalytic treatment. It brings psychoanalytic ideas and understanding in an effort to comprehend violence against women.

The Embodied Female is the first volume of this series for the Committee on Women and Psychoanalysis of the International Psychoanalytical Association. This book brings together highly original and insightful contributions from an international group of renowned psychoanalaysts.

This book examines the status of women in different eras and in different areas of society. The contributors draw on their international experience to consider how women are viewed and treated in society today and offer perspectives on why the status of women and girls has not changed in some areas.

This book addresses aspects of how creativity is viewed in psychoanalytic theory and worked with in the consulting room, with particular reference to human generativity and the life cycle, within the arts in the broadest sense and its workings in society and culture in the widest sense.

In this book, international psychoanalytic writers address the question ‘What do Women Want Today?’ from a variety of lenses, bringing into focus the creative, resilient forces shown by women in their multiple social and psychological tasks.The book reviews classic psychoanalytic theories about the feminine within a new cultural context. It challenges hegemonic gender prejudices and discusses new conceptions that do not pathologize ‘different’ lifestyles and family configurations. With chapters by leading, international thinkers in the field, this book explores how to think about new feminine scenarios, gender identities, gender dynamics, motherhood, and desire, in light of modern psychoanalytic theories. In presenting how these changing contemporary notions of the feminine challenge classic psychoanalytic theory and practice, this book will compel both training and experienced analysts to think about new psychoanalytic theories and engage with their own prejudices regarding changing notions of the feminine.Offering ideas relevant to psychoanalysis, sociology, gender studies, psychology, and activism, this book will be of great interest to professionals, teachers and students in addition to any with an interest in psychoanalytic theory and women’s studies.

In this book, international psychoanalytic writers address the question ‘What do Women Want Today?’ from a variety of lenses, bringing into focus the creative, resilient forces shown by women in their multiple social and psychological tasks.The book reviews classic psychoanalytic theories about the feminine within a new cultural context. It challenges hegemonic gender prejudices and discusses new conceptions that do not pathologize ‘different’ lifestyles and family configurations. With chapters by leading, international thinkers in the field, this book explores how to think about new feminine scenarios, gender identities, gender dynamics, motherhood, and desire, in light of modern psychoanalytic theories. In presenting how these changing contemporary notions of the feminine challenge classic psychoanalytic theory and practice, this book will compel both training and experienced analysts to think about new psychoanalytic theories and engage with their own prejudices regarding changing notions of the feminine.Offering ideas relevant to psychoanalysis, sociology, gender studies, psychology, and activism, this book will be of great interest to professionals, teachers and students in addition to any with an interest in psychoanalytic theory and women’s studies.

In this book, Patricia Alkolombre explores the desire for a child from a contemporary psychoanalytic perspective, and covers the questions raised in the face of new resources offered by reproductive medicine.This volume reviews traditional psychoanalytic conceptualisations from the perspective of gender theories and analyses theoretical hegemonies related to the desire and passion for a child. Alkolombre discusses how the ‘passion to have a child’ is a key aspect of motherhood, characterised by emotional intensity, persistence, and self-sacrificial aspects.The book is divided into three sections: Part One deals with the desire and passion to have a child, while Part Two focuses on the impact of reproductive techniques, as well as the ever-changing role of parenthood in the modern day. Throughout these fascinating chapters, clinical vignettes of both individual and couple analyses span topics such as mourning, the use of reproductive technology, the anonymity of gamete donors, enigmatic infertility, surrogacy, and abortion from an interdisciplinary perspective. The historical and cultural contexts of infertility are reviewed from a psychoanalytic angle in Part Three with the view of transcending the former androcentric perspective that has deeply influenced the maternal ideal and expectations of men. Alkolombre also proposes a new analysis of the Oedipus myth. This book is vital reading for psychoanalysts, mental health professionals, teachers and students interested in contemporary parenting, motherhood, and infertility, as well as the theoretical analysis of the desire for a child.

Independent Women in British Psychoanalysis celebrates the lives and work of female psychoanalysts whose significant contributions to the Independent Tradition have hitherto been overshadowed by their male counterparts. The contributors in this volume look at seven female psychoanalysts who broke new ground with their contributions to theory and practice: Ella Freemen Sharpe, Marjorie Brierley, Paula Heimann, Marion Milner, Enid Balint, Nina Coltart and Pearl King. The chapters tell the individual stories of these psychoanalysts alongside their theories, showing how their personal lives embody and illustrate the essential universal developmental task of becoming oneself and finding one’s own voice. The themes across the chapters include infant and child development with (m)other, trauma, constructive use of aggression, creativity, a theory of clinical technique, and independence of mind in a social world. This book will be of interest and relevance to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, developmental psychologists, sociologists, group analysts and historians of psychoanalysis, as well as those interested in feminism and women’s position in society.

Independent Women in British Psychoanalysis celebrates the lives and work of female psychoanalysts whose significant contributions to the Independent Tradition have hitherto been overshadowed by their male counterparts. The contributors in this volume look at seven female psychoanalysts who broke new ground with their contributions to theory and practice: Ella Freemen Sharpe, Marjorie Brierley, Paula Heimann, Marion Milner, Enid Balint, Nina Coltart and Pearl King. The chapters tell the individual stories of these psychoanalysts alongside their theories, showing how their personal lives embody and illustrate the essential universal developmental task of becoming oneself and finding one’s own voice. The themes across the chapters include infant and child development with (m)other, trauma, constructive use of aggression, creativity, a theory of clinical technique, and independence of mind in a social world. This book will be of interest and relevance to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, developmental psychologists, sociologists, group analysts and historians of psychoanalysis, as well as those interested in feminism and women’s position in society.

In this book, Patricia Alkolombre explores the desire for a child from a contemporary psychoanalytic perspective, and covers the questions raised in the face of new resources offered by reproductive medicine.This volume reviews traditional psychoanalytic conceptualisations from the perspective of gender theories and analyses theoretical hegemonies related to the desire and passion for a child. Alkolombre discusses how the ‘passion to have a child’ is a key aspect of motherhood, characterised by emotional intensity, persistence, and self-sacrificial aspects.The book is divided into three sections: Part One deals with the desire and passion to have a child, while Part Two focuses on the impact of reproductive techniques, as well as the ever-changing role of parenthood in the modern day. Throughout these fascinating chapters, clinical vignettes of both individual and couple analyses span topics such as mourning, the use of reproductive technology, the anonymity of gamete donors, enigmatic infertility, surrogacy, and abortion from an interdisciplinary perspective. The historical and cultural contexts of infertility are reviewed from a psychoanalytic angle in Part Three with the view of transcending the former androcentric perspective that has deeply influenced the maternal ideal and expectations of men. Alkolombre also proposes a new analysis of the Oedipus myth. This book is vital reading for psychoanalysts, mental health professionals, teachers and students interested in contemporary parenting, motherhood, and infertility, as well as the theoretical analysis of the desire for a child.

Pregnancy, Assisted Reproduction, and Psychoanalysis reflects on contemporary views on pregnancy, while offering guidance on how to work with women and couples experiencing infertility as well as the unique issues raised by having a child through assisted reproduction technologies.Comprised of chapters written by eminent analysts working with infertile couples and women, and parents who have a child born from assisted reproduction, this book offers insightful ways to better understand the challenges these patients undertake and the various issues this might bring into the analytic room. The contributors examine the myriad psychic problems subjects are confronted with which could impact their ability to bond with children born through ART: the mourning processes infertility entails, the identification with the fertile parental couple, the unconscious representation of origin, the representation of the primal scene, and the process of symbolic affiliation. They consider the working-through these processes necessitate in order to enable filiation and healthy parenting, and give invaluable tools to the analyst to enable the promotion of psychological growth. Throughout, the chapters address the emotions that infertility summons in which both patient and analyst find a spectrum of unconscious phantasies and anxieties.This book is an essential read for psychoanalysts and other professionals working in the field of ART, as well as those interested in motherhood and its vicissitudes and intersection with psychoanalysis.

Pregnancy, Assisted Reproduction, and Psychoanalysis reflects on contemporary views on pregnancy, while offering guidance on how to work with women and couples experiencing infertility as well as the unique issues raised by having a child through assisted reproduction technologies.Comprised of chapters written by eminent analysts working with infertile couples and women, and parents who have a child born from assisted reproduction, this book offers insightful ways to better understand the challenges these patients undertake and the various issues this might bring into the analytic room. The contributors examine the myriad psychic problems subjects are confronted with which could impact their ability to bond with children born through ART: the mourning processes infertility entails, the identification with the fertile parental couple, the unconscious representation of origin, the representation of the primal scene, and the process of symbolic affiliation. They consider the working-through these processes necessitate in order to enable filiation and healthy parenting, and give invaluable tools to the analyst to enable the promotion of psychological growth. Throughout, the chapters address the emotions that infertility summons in which both patient and analyst find a spectrum of unconscious phantasies and anxieties.This book is an essential read for psychoanalysts and other professionals working in the field of ART, as well as those interested in motherhood and its vicissitudes and intersection with psychoanalysis.

In this landmark collaboration, Osamu Kitayama and Jhuma Basak chronical their long-standing collaboration and cultural exchange to survey the importance of familial relationships in Japan and India, exploring primal relations through a cross-cultural psychoanalytic lens.Divided into three sections, Psychoanalytic Explorations into the Primal Relationship in Japan and India looks at each country’s perception of parenthood and approach to raising children in turn before concluding in an illuminating dialogue between the two authors. Kitayama explores the maternal figure within the mother-child relationship, with a focus on the mother-son dyad, as well as relationships between parents. He considers, in depth, how Japanese culture can often exclude what is perceived as alien, delving into its rich tapestry of folklore to understand underlying ‘mental scripts’ which can shape collective perceptions, societal norms and expectations, each of which can pose an issue to healthy familial relationships. Basak’s response draws from Indian socio-cultural and mythological contexts, as well as clinical applications, to provide psychoanalytic insight into the stark differences and similarities between attitudes in Japan, India and the eastern culture at large. Both authors join together to highlight different child rearing practises such as co-sleeping and how they can shape human sexuality-subjectivity. Challenging the standardisation of the Oedipal myth, the book draws from literary and clinical examples in Japan and India to invite the reader into another world of parenting style and another idiom of psychoanalysis. Uniquely positioned to develop understanding of how psychoanalysis has developed in non-Western countries, this book is an essential resource for psychoanalysts in training and in practice.

In this landmark collaboration, Osamu Kitayama and Jhuma Basak chronical their long-standing collaboration and cultural exchange to survey the importance of familial relationships in Japan and India, exploring primal relations through a cross-cultural psychoanalytic lens.Divided into three sections, Psychoanalytic Explorations into the Primal Relationship in Japan and India looks at each country’s perception of parenthood and approach to raising children in turn before concluding in an illuminating dialogue between the two authors. Kitayama explores the maternal figure within the mother-child relationship, with a focus on the mother-son dyad, as well as relationships between parents. He considers, in depth, how Japanese culture can often exclude what is perceived as alien, delving into its rich tapestry of folklore to understand underlying ‘mental scripts’ which can shape collective perceptions, societal norms and expectations, each of which can pose an issue to healthy familial relationships. Basak’s response draws from Indian socio-cultural and mythological contexts, as well as clinical applications, to provide psychoanalytic insight into the stark differences and similarities between attitudes in Japan, India and the eastern culture at large. Both authors join together to highlight different child rearing practises such as co-sleeping and how they can shape human sexuality-subjectivity. Challenging the standardisation of the Oedipal myth, the book draws from literary and clinical examples in Japan and India to invite the reader into another world of parenting style and another idiom of psychoanalysis. Uniquely positioned to develop understanding of how psychoanalysis has developed in non-Western countries, this book is an essential resource for psychoanalysts in training and in practice.

Revisiting Psychic Bisexuality: The Feminine Within explores the complexities of psychosexual development from a psychoanalytic perspective, challenging traditional ideals and theories.Viewing the feminine and the masculine as an interdependent dyad in the human psyche, this book examines the construction of identity, as well as the sexual identification process. Considering inter- and intrapsychic dynamics, the chapters explore the relationship between analyst and analysand, looking at how various perspectives on the identification process of the masculine and feminine can challenge the analytic process. Focusing on classic and contemporary psychoanalytic theories, the chapters approach the phenomenon of psychic bisexuality as a mediating and mental function and work to find a model that fits with contemporary Psychoanalysis and life in the twenty-first century. Based on the universal idea that each element of the analytic pair carries inside his/her idiosyncratic experience of the feminine/masculine relationship, and that the analytic pair is engaged in an ongoing unconscious communication, the global cohort of contributors invite psychoanalysts working today to expand their viewpoints and move beyond the traditional psychoanalytic frame to better help their clients.This book is an invaluable resource for all mental health practitioners, as well as those in education and social care, looking to reflect on the vicissitudes of psychosexual development.

Revisiting Psychic Bisexuality: The Feminine Within explores the complexities of psychosexual development from a psychoanalytic perspective, challenging traditional ideals and theories.Viewing the feminine and the masculine as an interdependent dyad in the human psyche, this book examines the construction of identity, as well as the sexual identification process. Considering inter- and intrapsychic dynamics, the chapters explore the relationship between analyst and analysand, looking at how various perspectives on the identification process of the masculine and feminine can challenge the analytic process. Focusing on classic and contemporary psychoanalytic theories, the chapters approach the phenomenon of psychic bisexuality as a mediating and mental function and work to find a model that fits with contemporary Psychoanalysis and life in the twenty-first century. Based on the universal idea that each element of the analytic pair carries inside his/her idiosyncratic experience of the feminine/masculine relationship, and that the analytic pair is engaged in an ongoing unconscious communication, the global cohort of contributors invite psychoanalysts working today to expand their viewpoints and move beyond the traditional psychoanalytic frame to better help their clients.This book is an invaluable resource for all mental health practitioners, as well as those in education and social care, looking to reflect on the vicissitudes of psychosexual development.

This important and wide-ranging book explores the world of a child or young person who has been abused or neglected. It seeks to understand their world, to ease the pain from which they suffer, and to heal the wounds that the abuse has left.Examining how abuse always takes place in the context of relationships, and involves a misuse of power that causes a traumatic overwhelming of the child or adolescent, abuse also evokes strong countertransference. This affects interventions, particularly when clinicians struggle with feelings of which they may feel ashamed. A difficulty in coming to terms with and addressing child abuse relates to unconscious factors which, by freezing the emotional area surrounding the abuse (or by blinding the area of personality), makes some thoughts unthinkable.Considering traditional and novel ways of helping children who feel they have been maltreated, the book offers suggestions for individual treatment as well as describing the successful work carried out with child refugees. It also offers a glimpse into what child psychoanalysts interpret and do with children who feel a parent hates them.