Independent Psychoanalysis Today

Sira Dermen is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society. She is Honorary Senior Consultant at the Portman Clinic and is in full-time private practice. She has written on violence and perversion. John Keene is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society and is in full-time private practice. He has taught widely on clinical issues, and on the Independent Tradition and the Controversial Discussions. Paul Williams is a training and supervising analyst with The British Psychoanalytical Society and a member of the Royal Anthropological Institute. He was a consultant psychotherapist in the British National Health Service, retiring in 2010. From 2001-2007 he was Joint Editor-in-Chief, with Glen O. Gabbard, of the 'International Journal of Psychoanalysis'. He has published widely on the subject of severe disturbance. He lives and practises in Hampshire, UK.

• Preface , Orientations , Reflections on the evolution of Independent psychoanalytic thought , An Independent theory of clinical technique , The intersubjective matrix: influences on the Independents' growth from “object relations” to “subject relations” , FOUR Psychoanalytic learning, training, teaching, and supervision in relation to the ego and especially the superego , Interventions , Incorporation of an invasive object , Boundary issues in the recovery from trauma and abuse , Endings and beginnings , The Oedipus complex , Embodied language , The illusion of belief: a not so uncommon misbelief , The interplay of identifications: violence, hysteria, and the repudiation of femininity , The use and misuse of transference interpretations , The basic fault and the borderline psychotic transference , Entertaining the body in mind: thoughts on incest, the body, sexuality, and the self , A severe form of breakdown in communication in the psychoanalysis of an ill adolescent

Contributors: Bernard Barnett, Susan Budd, Sira Dermen, Ann Horne, John Keene, Roger Kennedy, Leon Kleimberg, Gregorio Kohon, Michael Parsons, Rosine Jozef Perelberg, Caroline Polmear, Joan Raphael-Leff, Paul Williams, Kenneth Wright.'This rich new volume of essays arrives at an auspicious moment in the history of British psychoanalytic thought. The Independent tradition in the British Psychoanalytic Society has unfortunately been linked to a time in the past when the "giants" walked the earth. This splendid collection is a clarion call to the psychoanalytic clinician, a rousing reminder that the Independents are alive and thriving. Indeed, the superb papers in this volume reflect the cutting edge of British thinking. I would highly recommend it to analysts throughout the world who seek an understanding of the current status of the Independent tradition. It will also serve as a stimulating teaching text for students.'- Glen O. Gabbard, former Joint Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Psychoanalysis'This book adds a new, stimulating chapter to the fascinating story of Independent psychoanalysis: a very particular phenomenon in the landscape of the psychoanalytic adventure, where love of and closeness to tradition and freedom of innovative investigation are creatively intertwined. Acknowledging the common roots of their psychoanalytic culture allows these authors to look ahead, each of them in their own personal way: the result is comparable to a luxuriant tree with many branches, exploring a variety of topics with the unmistakable attitude, style, and atmosphere of the British Middle Group. My sincere congratulations to the authors of this really wonderful book.'- Stefano Bolognini, President of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and President-Elect of the Intrernational Psychoanalytic Association