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"As I conducted this analysis, the scholarly posts by Mauricio, George, and Andrew, the prose and poetry by Cynthia and Judith, the quote of Fromm, embellished my awareness of the human condition in discussing apocalypse and enriched my understanding of the patient and myself. Therapists are with their patients in the present and communicating, which is a continual reminder that therapists and patients are in the here and now focusing on the patient's difficulties with their inner and outer lives. By your calculus, since I am Black, and see Black patients, I need to seek out White patients because they are different from me. Gianni wrote this in his post which is the bases of my advocacy: I One thing that I have learned in this period from my patients, family, friends and i I colleagues is that the new reality we will all contribute to create, the new co-construction of our i I new reality, is based on one crucial word, one idea, one feeling: B Care. b i Cynthia Apocalypse: Week 4 Daniel - Week 4 - Summary - May 15 "Apocalypse" - the word George sees our obsession with apocalypse in pop narratives as representing "a profound preoccupation with fears of massive loss of selfobject ties and relational connections", rather than with real world-ending events. [Extracted from the article]

In his response, Samuels argues that the issues under discussion are more of a work in progress than Bodnar claims and that therapists are more accurately perceived of as construction workers than the philosophers and theorists that Cushman wants them to be. More detail is given on working with political material in the session. Economics is presented as a field for exploration in therapy. Certain philosophers are cited for their relevance to clinical work. Theory asbricolageis suggested. Further material on the role of the arts in connection with progressive therapy practice is introduced. Questions of language are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The idea of the “activist client” is intended to be taken both literally and metaphorically—applying to some extent to a wider range of clients than actual activists. The paper develops a set of ideas about a “political turn” in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, using the tag “the inner politician.” There is a focus on working directly with political material in the session, and the pros and cos of this practice are reviewed. Wider issues such as social responsibility and social spirituality are discussed, as well as an exploration of the limits of individual responsibility. Some specific topics covered in the paper include the political roots of depression, difficulties with the concept of the therapeutic alliance from the point of view of democratic perspectives on clinical work, and a challenge to the unquestioned valuing of empathy (based on a reading of therapy though a Brechtian lens). There are numerous clinical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is an attempt to open discussion on the role of the individual, as opposed to the group, in contemporary progressive and radical politics. The phrase making a difference comes to mind. Academic ideas about the contexts and groups in which individuals operate are important yet require extensive revision. Jung’s ideas about the relationship of individuals and the social collective are useful as is Camus’ (1951/1953) book The Rebel. This article presents new thinking about individuals as fractured and broken as distinct from the autonomous unit promulgated by neoliberal thinking. Yet they remain individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three seemingly consensual propositions concerning psychotherapy and counselling are examined critically. All turn out to be unreliable, tendentious and even damaging: (i) Psychotherapy and counselling can be free and independent professions provided therapists, acting together, fight for them to be that way. (ii) Psychotherapy and counselling are private and personal activities, operating in the realms of feelings and emotions - the psyche, the unconscious, affects rooted in the body. Above all other factors, the single most important thing is the therapy relationship between two people, (iii) Psychotherapy and counselling, and psychotherapy are vocations, not jobs. Therapists are not only motivated by money. In developing his critiques of these propositions, the author utilizes social, political and economic perspectives. The author reviews new clinical thinking on the active role of the client in therapeutic process and suggests that a turn to the legendary figure of the Trickster might be of benefit to the field. The author locates his arguments in his experience of the politics and practices of psychotherapy and counselling, and engages in self-criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the application of ideas derived from psychotherapy to questions of economic and social policy. It is argued that disputes concerning human nature underlie many debates on economic theory. Class is reviewed from internal and emotional perspectives. Psychological obstacles to the achievement of economic inequality are explored and ways of overcoming them critically discussed. Particular attention is paid to the operation of economic sadism in the behaviour of individuals and societies. A range of possible gender differences in relation to money is reviewed. Inherited wealth is explored from the perspective of ‘therapy thinking’. The paper proposes that we reconsider what is deemed to be realistic and what is deemed to be (hopelessly) idealistic in thinking about economics. The paper concludes by proposing a deeper discussion of the problematic of sacrifice in connection with sustainable economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing as one engaged in the enterprise, the author discusses critically the possibilities and limitations of psychoanalytic and post-Jungian theorizing in connection with consultancy work in the field of organizations and corporations. Slippage between the individual and more collective perspectives is inevitable and, though intellectually inadequate, may turn out to be useful. Often in such work, the paucity of many approaches to leadership available to consultants becomes apparent. The author contributes some ideas of his own concerning the “good-enough leader.” In the next section of his response, the author discusses whether these consultancy interventions are of any use or not, and concludes, broadly speaking, caveat emptor. Finally, specific ethical challenges inherent in psychoanalytic consultancy work are identified and explored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author argues that the relational turn in psychotherapy has led to moralism, conformism and hypocrisy on the part of many clinicians. Relationality cannot engage with the phenomenon of solitude in a satisfactory manner leading to a potential flight from the unconscious. The author proposes that there is more than one therapy relationship to sondier and that the key task is to hold their simultaneity in mind. He proposes a methodology by which this might be done. The author argues that what is being discussed will be incomprehensible in terms of the project of state regulation of psychotherapy currently being proposed by the British Government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the correspondence between Professor Andrew Samuels of Psychoanalytic Studies at Essex University and David Veale, chairman of the British Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). The conversation talks on the release of £170 million by secretary Alan Johnson of the Ministry of Health for the National Health Service (NHS) Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) program for people who suffered from anxiety and depression.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including the exploration of questions inherent in learning the unknown and learning to speak from unknowing by Julia Cayne and Del Loewenthal and another on the concept of synchronicity between dreams and thoughts by Roderick Main.

Samuels interviewed Dimen in lieu of a book review for her Sexuality, Intimacy, Power. The interview was unstructured and dialogical and covered the following main topics: (a) professional issues in the field of psychoanalysis such as the relation of theory to practice and ref lections on the nature and content of trainings in psychoanalysis; (b) issues in the broad areas of sexuality and gender including the question of moral relativism with respect to sexual behaviors historically designated as "perverse" and considerations of masculinity, femininity, and patriarchy; (c) intellectual considerations such as the relations between anthropology and psychoanalysis and the as yet indeterminate nature of the discipline of psychoanalysis, neither art nor science and not a hybrid of the two; and (d) the political, social, and cultural contexts within which psychoanalytic endeavors including the interview itself are taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remit of the apparatus of professional ethics in the field of psychotherapy can be appropriately expanded so as to make the profession more socially responsible and thereby contribute to the 'protection of the public' that is said to be the main purpose of statutory regulation. Using ideas culled from the sociology of the professions, political theory and ethical discourse, it is proposed that ethical psychotherapy cannot take place if its overall social framework is itself profoundly unethical. Inclusivity and diversity are reframed as ethical professional practices. Questions of wealth, gender, sexuality and ethnicity are not only 'social' or 'political' - they are also part of a morally imaginative expansion of what we mean by professional ethics. Attention is paid to the dangers of self-righteousness and moral tyranny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideas and practices of psychotherapy, together with fresh thinking from many other sources, can help to revitalize Western politics which seem broken and moribund. The author describes various professional experiences of his own at the interface of politics and psychotherapy. These include consulting with mainstream and activist politicians and groupings. He discusses how politics in the West is changing in the general direction of what he calls "transformative politics." He also asks if psychotherapists can make a difference in the political world today, explaining that, though enthusiastic about the prospect, he is also skeptical about it because the record of psychotherapists' involvement in politics is not very good. The paper includes an experiential and personally oriented section ("The Inner Politician") that looks at how the political self is formed in culture, family, and the inner world. The notion of differing political styles as a source of conflict is explained and explored. The author concludes with some reflections on the relations between psychotherapy, politics, and spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores what psychology and psychotherapies can offer as part of the much needed transformation of western politics. Basis for suggestion that psychotherapists could transform self-concern into social and political concern; Introduction of the `political energy' concept; Proposition of a multidisciplinary approach to establish psychological delimeters; Operation of `political energy' on an individual level.

ABSTRACT Without collapsing distinct discourses into each other, the paper considers the linkages between spirituality, psychotherapy and politics. Changes are raking place in all three areas. Therapists who focus on the spiritual dimension as part of their ordinary work still tend to be marginalized. Similarly, the political dimensions of the client's experience often receive insufficient attention. The author offers an initial sketch of a new 'anatomy of spirituality': into social spirituality, democratic spirituality, craft spirituality, profane spirituality and spiritual sodality, He criticizes the practice of 'safe therapy', meaning therapy based on an object relations paradigm that represses the (incestuous) sexuality that lies at the heart both of the therapy encounter and the domain of spiritual values. The paper concludes with some thoughts about justice and an account of pertinent grassroots political developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author in his analytical practice, noted that many patients seemed to be introducing political themes more often than they had before. Talking to a few of his colleagues confirmed that this was also their experience and they together tended to put it down to the fact that, since the mid-1980's, the pace of political change in the world appeared to have quickened. But, they also agreed, they were not as sure as they once were how to understand and handle this material. At times, the author felt that the usual formulation - that such material needs to be understood symbolically, perhaps as a communication on the transference-countertransference level - was still adequate to guide practice. At other times, it turned out that the patient had a need to talk about some public issue, such as the Gulf War, but had learned that, in analysis, one must not do that. Hence, behind many apparent transference communications there seemed also to be a concern, perhaps still on a psychological level, for the political theme, issue or problem that had been introduced - but in its own right.