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| Freud And Beyond: A History Of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought | 
 enlarge | Authors: Stephen A. Mitchell, Margaret J. Black
Publisher: Basic Books
Discount Category: Book
Selling Price: $17.95
Buy New: $10.23
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Customer Ratings:  16 comments
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (pounds): 1
Dimensions (inch): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0465014054
Dewey Decimal Number: 150.195
EAN: 9780465014057
Publication Date: August 8, 1996
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| Customer Comments:
 "and Beyond" could have been a good read.... December 15, 2005
7 out of 22 found this comment useful.
This could have been a valuable reference. The front cover lists 39 names, some well known, others so obscure as to invite interests to learn more. Try to find these 39 when opening the book. Only in the Index. At least two pages, as chapters, should have provided insight into the thoughts of these 39 names who appeared under the caption, "A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Throught." However, Chapter headings only cover Freud, Sullivan, Klein, Fairbairn/Winnicott, Erikson/Kohut, and Kernberg/Schafer/Loewald/Lacan--and that's it. Eleven theorists.
Toward the end of the book, the last two chapters appear to be the mission of the book--Controversies. Two pages are devoted to why the authors think homosexuality is normal. Uh-huh! They emotionally vent against the psychoanalytic view that includes binding mothers and detached fathers. They grouse over psychoanalytic notions of homosexuality as a "pathological defensive, phobic retreat from castration fears" and renounce employing a "directive/suggestive" approach to treatment. The authors cite at least one well-known activist by only calling him a "contemporary author."
While Chapter 8, Controversies in theory notes that "Freud regarded sexual orientation as largely constitutional" (p223), the reader must flip to the "Notes" section (p263) to read, "Freud termed homosexuality a perversion, because he considered only heterosexual genital intercourse to be the 'normal' sexual organization. In the Freudian lexicon, perversions are pregenital fixations caused either by constitution (an overabundance of one or another component drive) or conflict."
The authors have an agenda to discredit theory and call it "expansion" and "transformation" hoping to convert readers to their own way of thinking. In perusing earlier reviews of this book, they appear somewhat successful. You might ask, are the authors simply preaching to the choir, or have these reviewers not thought through the material in order to provide credible opinion? As far as this book being required reading for a doctoral class in Psychodynamic Theory, as one reviewer states, I would hope that expectations of a critical read would accompany such a requirement. Some of the reviewers appear to be thirsting for knowledge...any knowledge concerning psychoanalytic theory and will drink from the first cup available, without question.
The book's authors, by using vague phases such as "In many cases" to denote Freudian thought to which they disagree, offer no examples to support their attack and leave the reader guessing. Basic Books is a reputable publisher. The reader deserves better. I bought this book but returned it after a selective skimming through its contents. Finding that the mission of transformation is a failure, the reader will only note that it accedes to political motivation of coveted views.
 Pschoanalysis in Layman's terms August 28, 2005
1 out of 1 found this comment useful.
Very good book for someone who is just learning about pschoanalysis. Good examples of clinical application and a very common sense approach to psychology. A much easier read than other texts such as The Freud Reader. Good stuff.
Excellent introduction September 16, 2004
3 out of 5 found this comment useful.
This book is very well written. An excellent introduction to the topic, if you are a guy like me, who had been thru psychoanalisys but really didn't understand what the foundations of the process were. The author explains that there are many different theories and kinds of psychoanalisys, not only one (freud), like most of us think. Even though the subject is hard and complex, the author makes it easy to understand with his fluent prose.
Great Summary September 5, 2004
2 out of 4 found this comment useful.
I actually used a gift card to purchase this book - much to my gift-givers amazement (and confusion)! I enjoyed it then, and a couple of years later found I had a head-start on assignments for a doctoral level class in Psychodynamic Theory (Freud and Beyond was on the syllabus). I think it is well worth reading, even the parts that take a couple of "reads" and are a little plodding. Great Summary!
Especially the Beyond May 28, 2004
16 out of 17 found this comment useful.
An excellent history and explanation of psychoanlytic theory and practise. But especially valuable for the review of post-Freudian psychoanlytic understanding of why people have personality problems and what the "new" psychoanalyts have to offer (which is plenty!). I might mention that the authors were apparently not aware that Kohut's "patient", Mr. Z, is actually a disguised portrait of his own psychological history. This book is especially valuable for the relatively simple understandings of why people suffer and how the professional/personal relationship formed between the psychoanalyst and patient is helpful. Disabuses the stereotype of the distant, impersonal psychoanalyst.
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