best intro book to analysis/psychodynamics

[Dizzier]

Can people please post their favorite introductory books to psychoanalysis and/or psychodynamic theory/therapy? I would really like to learn more. Good intros to Freud etc welcome! Thank you in advance.

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[OldPsychDoc]

Can people please post their favorite introductory books to psychoanalysis and/or psychodynamic theory/therapy? I would really like to learn more. Good intros to Freud etc welcome! Thank you in advance.

Nancy McWilliams has some very readable, accessible introductory books. I got a lot out of them, and I'm NOT psychoanalytically oriented at all.

 

[billypilgrim37]

Gabbard's Longterm Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, which is apparently getting a new edition in March.

 

[Doc Samson]

I agree with BP on the Gabbard text. Would also add:

http://www.amazon.com/Freud-Beyond-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267041258&sr=8-1

 

[swanny]

You could start with Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis by Freud, then try Brenner's Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis, and Gabbard'sbook as well. Other books that help you develop a psychoanalytic understanding include Shapiro's Neurotic Styles, and MacKinnon and Michels The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice.

 

[Dizzier]

These are all very helpful suggestions-- thank you!

 

[worriedwell]

PSYCHDYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY: A GUIDE TO EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE By Summers and Barber

Hot off the press, contemporary, clean, very readable and excellent for beginning therapists. Actually has endorsements from major players in the field and gives a good comparison to CBT and other modalities for today's psychiatrist.

 

[BabyPsychDoc]

Gabbard has 2 books: Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. IMHO, Psychodynamic Psychiatry is a good place to start - it gives a succinct overview of all major theories in modern psychoanalysis and their application to all major diagnostic categories. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is more of a "how to do psychotherapy volume" - also very good, but maybe after reading the Psychodynamic Psychiatry.

 

[Teufelhunden]

Nancy McWilliams has some very readable, accessible introductory books. I got a lot out of them, and I'm NOT psychoanalytically oriented at all.

I agree wholeheartedly. Nancy McWilliams' three books are the most assessable books I have read on psychodynamic psychotherapy. Of the three, I would recommend starting with Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process. Gabbard's book is also good. When you're ready for something a little more challenging, I highly recommend Broken Structures: Severe Personality Disorders and Their Treatment by Salman Akhtar.

 

[cleareyedguy]

The MacKinnon and Michels was Biblical 20 years ago--my peers read and reread it. The new edition is a bit longer but well worth a read.