Truth

Salman Akhtar, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He has served on the editorial boards of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the Psychoanalytic Quarterly. His nearly 400 publications include 99 books, of which the following 20 are solo-authored: Broken Structures (1992), Quest for Answers (1995), Inner Torment (1999), Immigration and Identity (1999), New Clinical Realms (2003), Objects of Our Desire (2005), Regarding Others (2007), Turning Points in Dynamic Psychotherapy (2009), The Damaged Core (2009), Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (2009), Immigration and Acculturation (2011), Matters of Life and Death (2011), The Book of Emotions (2012), Psychoanalytic Listening (2013), Good Stuff (2013), Sources of Suffering (2014), No Holds Barred (2016), A Web of Sorrow (2017), Mind, Culture, and Global Unrest (2018), and Silent Virtues (2019).Dr Akhtar has delivered many prestigious invited lectures including a Plenary Address at the 2nd International Congress of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders in Oslo, Norway (1991), an Invited Plenary Paper at the 2nd International Margaret S. Mahler Symposium in Cologne, Germany (1993), an Invited Plenary Paper at the Rencontre Franco-Americaine de Psychanalyse meeting in Paris, France (1994), a Keynote Address at the 43rd IPA Congress in Rio de Janiero, Brazil (2005), the Plenary Address at the 150th Freud Birthday Celebration sponsored by the Dutch Psychoanalytic Society and the Embassy of Austria in Leiden, Holland (2006), and the Inaugural Address at the first IPA-Asia Congress in Beijing, China (2010).Dr Akhtar is the recipient of numerous awards including the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Edith Sabshin Award (2000), Columbia University’s Robert Liebert Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychoanalysis (2004), the American Psychiatric Association’s Kun Po Soo Award (2004) and Irma Bland Award for being the Outstanding Teacher of Psychiatric Residents in the country (2005). He received the highly prestigious Sigourney Award (2012) for distinguished contributions to psychoanalysis. In 2103, he gave the Commencement Address at graduation ceremonies of the Smith College School of Social Work in Northampton, MA.Dr Akhtar’s books have been translated into many languages, including German, Italian, Korean, Persian, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish, and Turkish. A true Renaissance man, Dr Akhtar has served as the Film Review Editor for The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and is currently serving as the Book Review Editor for the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. He has published 9 collections of poetry and serves as a Scholar-in-Residence at the Inter-Act Theatre Company in Philadelphia.

• AcknowledgmentsAbout the editor and contributorsIntroductionPrologue1. The meaning of ‘truth’ and the truth about ‘meaning’ in psychoanalysisBrett ClarkePart I: Developmental Realm2. Children and truthMali Mann3. The search for truth in adolescent rebellionAnn Smolen4. Truth in later lifeThomas WolmanPart II: Cultural Realm5. “Nothing is Truer than Truth” and ShakespeareRichard Waugaman6. Explorations into truth, anxiety, and death by Heidegger and FreudMichael Shoshani, Batya Shoshani, and Naama Shoshani-Breda7. Finding the truth in individual and large group psychologyVamık D. VolkanPart III: Clinical Realm8. Narrative truth and theoretical truthDonald Spence9. What is true and whose idea was it?Thomas Ogden10. Truth heals, if one can tolerate itCobi Avshalom and Gila Ofer11. Seven types of truth and their clinical relevanceSalman AkhtarEpilogue12. Truly, what does all this mean?Louis RothschildReferencesIndex

'The contributing authors write with academic terminology and authority. [...] This book's academic stance would be of particular interest to researchers and readers working in the psychoanalytic field. [...] It offered both information and challenges to my present understanding of the truth.'