{"product_id":"psychoanalysis-in-focus-david-livingstone-smith-9780761961949","title":"Psychoanalysis in Focus","description":"This is a thought provoking and passionately argued book, it is recommended as a thought provoking introduction to some of the key debates′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJournal of Analytical Psychology \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Psychoanalysis in Focus provides an excellent introduction to the basic problems besetting psychoanalytic theory and practice. David Livingstone Smith′s lucid survey of the major strands of the critical debate about psychoanalysis fills an important gap in the literature of a discipline not renowned for examining its own shortcomings at a fundamental level′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAllen Esterson, Author of Seductive Mirage: An Exploration of the Work of Sigmund Freud (Open Court Publishing, 1994) \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e David Livingstone Smith′s clearly reasoned iconoclastic account convincingly demonstrates the illusory, quasi-religious status of psychoanalysis unsupported as it currently is by any objective evidence to underwrite the vast bulk of its propositions. If it is to ask meaningful questions about the human mind and find ways to answer them, it will need to evolve into an interdisciplinary science and thereby create links with evolutionary biology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and linguistics′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnn Casement, Analytical Psychologist, Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Author of \u003c\/i\u003eCarl Gustav Jung \u003ci\u003e(SAGE Publications 2001)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e No responsible practitioner or scholar of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy can ignore this intellectually outstanding and grittily honest book. David Livingstone Smith brings together many of the themes that he has done so much to place on the agenda of contemporary psychoanalysis: the philosophical and scientific standing of the discipline; the nuanced impact of developments in related research fields; the oft-neglected role of the analyst in terms of communication between analyst and patient. What impresses me is the way in which Smith functions both as an educator, helping the reader to understand the significance of the challenges psychoanalysis faces, and also as a major protagonist in the debates inspired by those challenges′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eProfessor Andrew Samuels, University of Essex and Goldsmith′s College, University of London\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychoanalysis in Focus is a much-needed introduction to the major criticisms of psychoanalysis as a theory and as a practice. The book encourages psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and counsellors to adopt a more balanced view of their own discipline and aims to help students engage in critical debate during their training.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOutlining the main criticisms from outside the world of psychotherapy, David Livingstone Smith explores the contentions of philosophers such as Karl Popper and Adolf Gr[um]unbaum. He assesses the scientific credibility of psychoanalysis, explaining the difficulty in obtaining evidence, using the experimental methods of research favoured by the scientific community. Against this he sets the opposing view that psychoanalysis is not, and should not strive to be, a science and highlights the philosophical and ethical shortcomings which accompany this view. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book also examines the contemporary issues facing practitioners and the validity of key psychoanalytic concepts such as the unconscious, free association, transference and countertransference.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe future of psychoanalysis depends on the ability of practitioners to analyze its flaws and to answer its critics. \u003cb\u003ePsychoanalysis in Focus\u003c\/b\u003e provides a highly readable and accessible introduction which will help trainees and practitioners grasp the key debates.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Livingstone Smith\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0761961941\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780761961949\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sage Publications\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/13\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.70w x 0.38d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Livingstone Smith","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48448926941439,"sku":"9780761961949","price":69.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e1bb1beb-0c8d-473f-a911-c40b4e3d70d1.jpg?v=1777261187","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/psychoanalysis-in-focus-david-livingstone-smith-9780761961949","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}