From Sign to Symbol

Joseph Newirth is professor at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University.

• Introduction: Lost in the Fog: Theory, Clinical Practice and Research. Chapter 1: From Sign to Symbol: The evolution of psychoanalysis from a search for truth to the creation of meaning Chapter 2: Transformational Models in Psychology, Neuropsychology and Psychoanalysis Chapter 3: Dreams in Culture and Psychoanalysis Chapter 4: Humor as a Universal Human Emotion Chapter 5: Pleasure, Desire and Symbolization in the Psychotherapeutic Relationship Chapter 6: Dissociative Processes as a Failure of Symbolic Functioning and Mentalization Chapter 7: The Broken Container: Developing Symbolic Processes in Psychotherapy Chapter 8: Learning to ride a Bicycle: Procedural and Discursive Processes in Supervision Chapter 9: Transformational Processes in Psychotherapy: Metaphor, Symbol, and Self-Reflective Thought

Newirth comes across as a very lively, playful presence in his writing, which is very evocative. He invites the reader to play with the material he presents. . . Newirth combines a capacity to integrate many of the most important contemporary psychoanalytic theories in an engaging, lucid and readable way with exceptionally evocative and convincing clinical illustrations. This is a second outstanding text by Newirth, which will enrich the work of psychoanalysts and psychotherapists of all persuasions.