Psychoanalytic books

[F0nzie]

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Thinking of buying this book on psychoanalysis that was published last month: http://www.amazon.com/Textbook-Psychoanalysis-Waud-H-Kracke/dp/1585624101

Anybody have any recommendations for further reading?

 

[nitemagi]

Thinking of buying this book on psychoanalysis that was published last month: http://www.amazon.com/Textbook-Psychoanalysis-Waud-H-Kracke/dp/1585624101

Anybody have any recommendations for further reading?

What are you trying to learn? Basic theory? Techniques?

 

[F0nzie]

Techniques sounds better at this point

 

[nitemagi]

I'd focus more on psychodynamic than psychoanalysis at this point.

These are two popular ones--

http://www.amazon.com/Psychodynamic-Psychiatry-Clinical-Practice-4th/dp/1585621854

http://www.amazon.com/Individual-Psychotherapy-Science-Psychodynamics-Publication/dp/075062387X

 

[strangeglove]

Check this out:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470684712?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Clinical Manual

It's written by Deborah Cabaniss, the "Director of Psychotherapy Training" at Columbia, arguably the leading center for analytic training in the US. It's a good practical guide to psychodynamic psychotherapy, geared toward psychiatrists who are interested in the intersection of medical psychiatry and psychodynamics. Perhaps more useful than a book on psychoanalysis, which is a specific psychodynamically based treatment for neurotic problems that few of our patients would likely benefit from or tolerate.

 

[nitemagi]

Perhaps more useful than a book on psychoanalysis, which is a specific psychodynamically based treatment for neurotic problems that few of our patients would likely benefit from or tolerate.

That's a little bit of a fallacy (pun intended). A lot of the misunderstanding/stigma about psychoanalysis I would compare to the misunderstanding/stigma over psychiatry by those in other medical specialties. It's based on limited information from prior mentors who themselves only had a limited experience as a medical student.

Another comparison might be presuming that catholicism represents every branch of christianity. It obviously doesn't, but those that never looked at the later iterations miss a lot of the picture. I myself am Hindu 😀

Strangeglove your description is moreso appropriate for ego-psychology, the original Freudian approach that it turns out Freud himself didn't even really follow (based on many writings that his actual patients wrote about his style). Freud actually brought his dog in his office with him, and would have it sit in the room during his analytic sessions.

Later versions, aka "contemporary psychoanalysis," which're valuable for broader groups of individuals include self-psychology and relational/intersubjectivity. I'm early in my own analytic training, but I've been a bit astounded. There's a crapload (again, pun intended) of diversity in the theories and approaches/techniques.

 

[strangeglove]

That's a little bit of a fallacy (pun intended). A lot of the misunderstanding/stigma about psychoanalysis I would compare to the misunderstanding/stigma over psychiatry by those in other medical specialties. It's based on limited information from prior mentors who themselves only had a limited experience as a medical student.

Another comparison might be presuming that catholicism represents every branch of christianity. It obviously doesn't, but those that never looked at the later iterations miss a lot of the picture. I myself am Hindu 😀

Strangeglove your description is moreso appropriate for ego-psychology, the original Freudian approach that it turns out Freud himself didn't even really follow (based on many writings that his actual patients wrote about his style). Freud actually brought his dog in his office with him, and would have it sit in the room during his analytic sessions.

Later versions, aka "contemporary psychoanalysis," which're valuable for broader groups of individuals include self-psychology and relational/intersubjectivity. I'm early in my own analytic training, but I've been a bit astounded. There's a crapload (again, pun intended) of diversity in the theories and approaches/techniques.

I'm a big fan of psychoanalysis, but I guess I'm still not convinced that it is helpful as a primary treatment for people with severe depression, psychosis, mania, substance abuse, borderline personality disorder, i.e. most of the patients we treat. By the way, when I say psychoanalysis, I am talking about 3-4 times per week sessions on the couch (this may be different from how you define it). I certainly get that self-psychological and relational/intersubjective approaches can be helpful for certain kinds of character pathology (e.g. Narcissistic PD), but I think these patients still have to be functioning at a reasonably high level (e.g. have a job) to benefit from these treatments. A large number of patients who enter psychiatric treatment aren't functioning that well. Moreover, most of our patients cannot afford psychoanalysis of any kind. That said, we use psychodynamic principles all the time in treating these sicker patients, and this is what Dr. Cabaniss' book addresses: psychodynamic psychotherapy as a spectrum that includes more "ego supportive" psychodynamic techniques for sicker patient and more "uncovering", analytic techniques for higher functioning patients. It includes quite a bit on assessment of patients to determine their level of functioning to guide treatment choice.

 

[slope]

F0nzi,

I was asked this question multiple times in the past, what book(s) would I suggest for psychoanalysis. It is a fairly challenging issue to select a few from so many books out there on the topic. If you're interested in a blend of theory and techniques, Nancy McWilliams's books are a very nice and helpful introduction to psychoanalysis. She wrote 3 books: Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Psychoanalytic Case Formulation, and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. They are a very nice read, she writes splendidly, and they try as much as possible not to embrace any specific theoretical orientation

 

[atsai3]

F0nzi,

I was asked this question multiple times in the past, what book(s) would I suggest for psychoanalysis. It is a fairly challenging issue to select a few from so many books out there on the topic. If you're interested in a blend of theory and techniques, Nancy McWilliams's books are a very nice and helpful introduction to psychoanalysis. She wrote 3 books: Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Psychoanalytic Case Formulation, and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. They are a very nice read, she writes splendidly, and they try as much as possible not to embrace any specific theoretical orientation

Echo slope's recommendation for McWilliams.

 

[Divine Furor]

Thinking of buying this book on psychoanalysis that was published last month: http://www.amazon.com/Textbook-Psychoanalysis-Waud-H-Kracke/dp/1585624101

Anybody have any recommendations for further reading?

With all respect to the variety of opinions above, I'm reading this and enjoying it a LOT. While I totally agree that psychoanalysis requires a) training b) a wealthy neurotic patient with plenty of time on their hands and c) did I mention training....this book is an intelligent, absorbing introduction to the basic framework without a lot of teeth-gnashing, name-calling, and defensiveness....which you tend to get if you read Freud's disciples as a primary source. Glen Gabbard visited my MS and gave an outstanding lecture on simple techniques in improving the therapeutic alliance with borderlines that frankly, have worked for me even as an intern, and he's an editor I'd trust.

 

[billypilgrim37]

The worst thing the purple Gabbard book ever did was make a second edition which wasn't purple anymore.

Otherwise, I could just say, hey, go read the purple Gabbard book. And it will make you smart and stuff. And when I would say to go read the green Winston book, well, that still exists, but if there's not a purple gabbard book to reference to accompany the green winston book, then the balance of the book world has been destroyed.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Psy...3857/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322889455&sr=8-1

this is still the gold standard book for intro psych residents. the cabaniss might overtake it soon, but the baby gabbard still reigns supreme.

 

[PETRAN]

http://www.amazon.com/Psychodynamic...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323141078&sr=1-1



This is a very modern/science-based book on short-term psychodynamic treatment. It keeps the most valid, compares it to the older models, upgrades it in accordance to modern science and drops a lot of older psychodynamic pseudoscience/psychobabble IMO ( lets face it, there is lots of it in traditional psychoanalysis)


Then there is CBT and DBT for something that can really work... even for difficult patients...😛