Hope And Dread In Pychoanalysis (Anywhere But Naxos) [Paperback]

Stephen A. Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0465030629 | ISBN-13: 978-0465030620

The love affair that psychoanalysis has had with its own founder has obscured just how different the field is today from what it was a century ago, when Freud was writing. Now Stephen A. Mitchell, a central figure in the modernization of psychoanlalysis, shows how the field is moving beyond the confines of Freudian drive theory to encompass the concerns of contemporary life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Examining contemporary psychoanalysis as it is experienced by both analysts and their patients, Mitchell, a training analyst at Manhattan's William Alanson White Institute, cogently delineates the ways contemporary analysis has moved away from Freud's original vision, particularly in regard to drive theory. Mitchell views psychoanalysis as a fluid process in which the developing relationship between analyst and analysand--specifically in the gradual expression and shaping of their own desires and fears--becomes the field on which deep change is facilitated. Setting his observations in a theoretical context, he cites the work of such modern psychoanalytic thinkers as David Winnicut, Heinz Kohut, Melanie Klein and Daniel Stern, among others. He argues that "analytic method is not archaeological and reconstructive; it does not simply expose what is there. Rather it is constructive and synthetic; it organizes whatever is there into patterns it itself supplies." Exploring current theories of self along with such clinical issues as the beginnings and endings of analytic treatment, Mitchell writes with clarity and passion. Psychotherapy Book Club and Behavioural Science Book Service alternates.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

A probing look at today's revolutions in psychoanalytic thought and practice by one of the most original and incisive writers in the field.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 6, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465030629
• ISBN-13: 978-0465030620
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal, January 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hope And Dread In Pychoanalysis (Anywhere But Naxos) (Paperback)

Mitchell was the real deal, a psychoanalyst who could speak to a broad discerning audience about hopes and dreads of being alive.

This book is honest about human nature, unflinchingly so, and it offers very specific, well-reasoned arguments about what human relationships can do for people (and for that matter, can't), and how that happens.

How sad that he died just as he seemed to be entering a prolific period.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful hopes and dreads, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hope And Dread In Pychoanalysis (Anywhere But Naxos) (Paperback)

This book is one of the most enlighting, in today's psychoanalytic field. It integrates the modern thoughts in viewing the human mind and the clinical process, to gether with a critical and learned look on the traditional way. Mr. Mitchell is a brilliant representative of a modern psychoanalist who remembers where we came from, but has the courage to go further.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond libidinal impulses, June 20, 2003

By 

NoMan "RyanS2" (Armchair) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope And Dread In Pychoanalysis (Anywhere But Naxos) (Paperback)

The major thrust of this book is exploring the world of psychoanalysis in a new light. In the traditional Freudian view, the psychoanalysis was meant to explore completely objective principles. Certain idic impulses were causing a person problems, and once these regressional idic impulses were destroyed the person was now free to live life in a healthy, though not necessarily happy, manner.

Because of this objective thrust, the psychologist was seen as a very remote and impersonal figure. The new turn in psychology that is being explored is that the psychologist now should help the patient explore the subjective world. This includes analyzing dreams, (though popular in Freud's day, has since fallen from grace), thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. All of these things are also subjected to change. The new view that is being supported is that the relationship between two groups must become better known, and this is where the psychoanalytic process takes place, not in replacing libidinal impulses.