Customer Reviews

An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've ever wondered what "ego", "id", "projection", and all the other psychoanalytic vocabulary meant, and wanted a book which thoughtfully assumed you were a novice, this is it. Brenner writes in a very readable style, and assumes that the reader is new to the field, so he is clear and expressive in his development, but never insults the reader's intelligence. He also gives examples of the ideas he writes about, bringing them alive, rather than leaving them as theoretical constructs. If you want to go further into psychoanalysis, want to understand the theories for their relevance to literature, film and other arts, or just want to be conversant in an otherwise arcane lexicon, read this book.

This is a very basic introduction and leaves out adequate coverage of object relations and Self Psychology which are breathing new life into Psychoanalysis. (Kernberg and Kohut)

A better introduction which covers much more and is more readable is Anthony Bateman and Jeremy Holmes "Introduction to Psychoanalysis"

Are you having trouble understanding Psychoanalysis? This text may help. I wouldn't recommend this book to the lay person though. It contains some complex vocabulary that only most Psychologists understand. For begining graduate and some undergraduate students, this book covers all of the Freudian Theory (unconscious, dreams, etc.) for an intellectually stimulting time. The author also goes over some of the "hard times" that Frued's theories have undergone, and has some examples of the "Psuedo-scientific" approach to explaining affect and behaviors. Some good case examples to apply the Psychoanalytic Theory to clinical practice.

One of the hardest things I have done in my life has been to successfully teach myself Freudian psychology. Charles Brenner's book was the single MOST VALUABLE aide in enabling me to do that.

I had purchased the 23 volume Collected Papers of Sigmund Freud from London, and I had studied Fenichel's textbook on Psychoanalysis, and I also studied numerous paperbacks on the subject - but Charles Brenner's concise and clear little book helped me assimilate the elemental concepts of Freudian psychology more effectively than ANY other resource.

Charles Brenner was a Professor at Yale Medical School, and he likely taught this course over and over again. So, he may have learned how to perfect the presentation of this difficult and conceptual subject.

As far as other reviewers' criticisms that Charles Brenner doesn't include post-Freudian material: I consider that criticism to be unjust. This book is a small PRIMER on the ELEMENTAL Freudian concepts - which should be learned before the more modern psychoanalytic info that came afterward. Maybe Charles Brenner's book would be better named at this time: An Elementary Textbook of FREUDIAN Psychology - that would help to clarify the content of this modestly sized book.

I have recommended this supremely valuable little GEM of a book to numerous people as the VERY BEST book to try to teach oneself Freudian psychology. I am astonished that it hasn't received 5 star ratings across the board; and I am also astonished that this wonderful book has not received more ratings. Maybe not enough people are even aware that this book even exists.

For a basic introduction on Freudian psychology and psychoanalysis this is an excellent text. In clarity and breadth this can't be beat. It does focus on what might be described as pre-1950 state of the field. This is not necessarily a problem since historical Freudian psychoanalysis is the foundation of the field, regardless of its appropriate and meaningful expansion by the great theorists that would follow Freud. Next books, besides actual primary texts of the theorists, including Freud, would be Bateman's Introduction to Psychoanalysis; Mitchell and Black's Freud and Beyond; the Blanck's Ego Psychology: Theory and Practice; Greenberg and Mitchell's Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory; MacKinnon's The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice; and to crown, the Nancy McWilliam's books, starting with Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Psychoanalytic Case Formulation, and Psychoanalystic Psychotherapy. The McWilliam's books are masterly and current, immediately applicable to clinical practice and research, and includes as well her gift of annotated references and bibliography based on her lifetime of study and reading. They are a milestone/foundation stone in writing on psychoanalytic practice.

One warning: Sadly, the Brenner text is produced on paper the substance of toilet paper. It tears at pen underlining, and at a cost of 15 dollars! Amazing price for such a cheaply produced book. Best to get a used copy somewhere with no doubt stronger paper for notation and underlining.

Needed this book for a "Psychoanalytic approach to literature" class but was interested on the subject of psychoanalysis anyway. It provides good detail into the fundamentals of psychoanalytic theory. It isn't difficult to understand.

"An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis" (ETP) is an explanatory introduction to the fundamentals of traditional Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Brenner faithfully remains close to Freud's thoughts using terms seen infrequently today (e.g., parapraxis, cathexis, dream censor). Averring psychoanalysis a "scientific discipline," ETP focuses on the presentation and defense of Freudian psychoanalysis buttressed by many examples. Noteworthy is the careful attention given to avoid an anachronistic presentation of ideas. Beginning with the foundational hypotheses of psychic determinism and unconscious mental processes, the majority of the book delineates drive theory, the psychic apparatus and dreams. These chapters comprise its most valuable parts. Though originally published in 1955, ETP's enduring quality is perhaps attributable to Brenner's disciple-like adherence to Freud and his pedagogical motive.