Customer Reviews

The Language of Psycho-Analysis

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

 

 

This dictionary style work is absolutely vital for any student of psychoanalysis, amateur or aspiring professional. From the armchair to the doctor's office, this book makes the intricacies of psychoanalytic terminology accessible in everyday language. Got a big psych test coming up? Don't know where to begin on what "object-cathexis" or "secondary Narcissism" could possibly mean? What to woo that special someone with your knowledge of "jouissance"? Go to the source. If that makes little or no sense, come here. (So to speak.)

Excellent research and study aid. Each item is punctiliously cross-referenced to its origin in Freud's writings and within each definition the different terms used are cross-referenced in a format that is easy to follow without being intrusive to the eye. Despite its French authors, this work is not Lacanian, thus it lacks definitions for some psychoanalytic terms (e.g. signifier) which contemporary analysts must seek elsewhere, for instance in Dylan Evans' book. But its relevance to developing psychoanalytic research and practice remains incontrovertible to all Freudians, post- or not.

This book is really useful if you are having trouble interpreting the often obscure and cryptic texts by Freud, Lacan, Klein, Laplanche, etc...