A Psychotherapy for the People

How did psychoanalysis come to define itself as being different from psychotherapy? How have racism, homophobia, misogyny and anti-Semitism converged in the creation of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis? Is psychoanalysis psychotherapy? Is psychoanalysis a "Jewish science"?

Inspired by the progressive and humanistic origins of psychoanalysis, Lewis Aron and Karen Starr pursue Freud's call for psychoanalysis to be a "psychotherapy for the people." They present a cultural history focusing on how psychoanalysis has always defined itself in relation to an "other." At first, that other was hypnosis and suggestion; later it was psychotherapy. The authors trace a series of binary oppositions, each defined hierarchically, which have plagued the history of psychoanalysis. Tracing reverberations of racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and homophobia, they show that psychoanalysis, associated with phallic masculinity, penetration, heterosexuality, autonomy, and culture, was defined in opposition to suggestion and psychotherapy, which were seen as promoting dependence, feminine passivity, and relationality. Aron and Starr deconstruct these dichotomies, leading the way for a return to Freud's progressive vision, in which psychoanalysis, defined broadly and flexibly, is revitalized for a new era.

A Psychotherapy for the People will be of interest to psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists--and their patients--and to those studying feminism, cultural studies and Judaism.

“"Most contemporary clinical psychologists know little or nothing about contemporary psychoanalytic clinical psychology. Far too often, more on the basis of biased preconceptions than on opinion holders' conversant familiarity with contemporary psychoanalytic literature, nonpsychoanalytically oriented psychologists see psychoanalytic thought and practice as racist, sexist, homophobic--and outdated, irrelevant, ineffective, and dangerous: this, despite compelling meta-analyses (Shedler, 2010) showing that psychodynamic psychotherapy is, for most patients seen by clinicians, the most effective intervention we have, with the largest effect size and the most enduring results. Lewis Aron and Karen Starr's book A Psychotherapy for the People: Toward a Progressive Psychoanalysis has the potential to change this state of affairs. It needs to be widely read and discussed."- Richard Ruth, PsycCRITIQUES "Can psychoanalysis achieve the universality to which it lays claim? Only by giving it up, goes the dialectical argument ofA Psychotherapy for the People: Toward a Progressive Psychoanalysis. Aron and Starrreturn psychoanalysis to its proper place on the cultural edge. They unveil the binaries - and behind them the hierarchies - that both power and weaken psychoanalysis. This anti-authoritarian book gives us good reason to hope that, by embracing its native complexity, psychoanalysis can realize its capacity to help, illuminate, and heal. Toward a heterodox psychoanalysis!" - Muriel Dimen PhD, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University "When a book combines a profound understanding of psychoanalysis with a profound understanding of its historical and social context, that is a rare event indeed. When, in addition, it illuminates the still unrealized potentials of psychoanalysis to contribute to social progress, we have a truly landmark contribution.A Psychotherapy for the People should be required reading for anyone interested in psychoanalysis - or, for that matter, the human condition." - Paul L. Wachtel, CUNY Distinguished Professor, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center "A Psychotherapy for the People is unique, unusually daring, intellectually adventurous and highly illuminating. Aron and Starr are guided by a humane and complex vision that encompasses the vulnerability and social trauma,the human failings and strengths that underlay a great intellectual achievement.They offer a sorely needed perspective on the binary oppositions and patriarchal biases that snagged so many psychoanalytic thinkers.This is a book that could well frame the central issues for everyone who hopes to preserve the talking cure, the dynamic therapy that can serve us all." - Jessica Benjamin, Clinical Professor, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis”

"Most contemporary clinical psychologists know little or nothing about contemporary psychoanalytic clinical psychology. Far too often, more on the basis of biased preconceptions than on opinion holders’ conversant familiarity with contemporary psychoanalytic literature, nonpsychoanalytically oriented psychologists see psychoanalytic thought and practice as racist, sexist, homophobic—and outdated, irrelevant, ineffective, and dangerous: this, despite compelling meta-analyses (Shedler, 2010) showing that psychodynamic psychotherapy is, for most patients seen by clinicians, the most effective intervention we have, with the largest effect size and the most enduring results. Lewis Aron and Karen Starr’s book A Psychotherapy for the People: Toward a Progressive Psychoanalysis has the potential to change this state of affairs. It needs to be widely read and discussed." - Richard Ruth, PsycCRITIQUES

"Can psychoanalysis achieve the universality to which it lays claim? Only by giving it up, goes the dialectical argument of A Psychotherapy for the People: Toward a Progressive Psychoanalysis. Aron and Starr return psychoanalysis to its proper place on the cultural edge. They unveil the binaries – and behind them the hierarchies - that both power and weaken psychoanalysis. This anti-authoritarian book gives us good reason to hope that, by embracing its native complexity, psychoanalysis can realize its capacity to help, illuminate, and heal. Toward a heterodox psychoanalysis!" - Muriel Dimen PhD, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University

"When a book combines a profound understanding of psychoanalysis with a profound understanding of its historical and social context, that is a rare event indeed. When, in addition, it illuminates the still unrealized potentials of psychoanalysis to contribute to social progress, we have a truly landmark contribution. A Psychotherapy for the People should be required reading for anyone interested in psychoanalysis – or, for that matter, the human condition." - Paul L. Wachtel, CUNY Distinguished Professor, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center

"A Psychotherapy for the People is unique, unusually daring, intellectually adventurous and highly illuminating. Aron and Starr are guided by a humane and complex vision that encompasses the vulnerability and social trauma, the human failings and strengths that underlay a great intellectual achievement. They offer a sorely needed perspective on the binary oppositions and patriarchal biases that snagged so many psychoanalytic thinkers. This is a book that could well frame the central issues for everyone who hopes to preserve the talking cure, the dynamic therapy that can serve us all." - Jessica Benjamin, Clinical Professor, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis

"When a book combines a profound understanding of psychoanalysis with a profound understanding of its historical and social context, that is a rare event indeed. When, in addition, it illuminates the still unrealized potentials of psychoanalysis to contribute to social progress, we have a truly landmark contribution. A Psychotherapy for the People should be required reading for anyone interested in psychoanalysis – or, for that matter, the human condition." - Paul L. Wachtel, CUNY Distinguished Professor, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center, USA

"Can psychoanalysis achieve the universality to which it lays claim? Only by giving it up, goes the dialectical argument of A Psychotherapy for the People: Toward a Progressive Psychoanalysis. Aron and Starr return psychoanalysis to its proper place on the cultural edge and contextualize its conceptual and clinical multiplicity in social and intellectual history. They unveil the binaries – and behind them the hierarchies - that both power and weaken psychoanalysis. This anti-authoritarian book gives us good reason to hope that, by embracing its native complexity, psychoanalysis can realize its capacity to help, illuminate, and heal. Toward a heterodox psychoanalysis!" - Muriel Dimen PhD, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University, USA

Lewis Aron is the Director of the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He is author and editor of numerous articles and books on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, including A Meeting of Minds and the Relational Perspectives Book Series. He was one of the co-founders of the journal Psychoanalytic Dialogues. He has served as President of the Division of Psychoanalysis (39) of the American Psychological Association; founding President of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP); founding President of the Division of Psychologist-Psychoanalysts of the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA). He is the co-founder and co-chair of the Sandor Ferenczi Center at the New School for Social Research, and is an Honorary Member of the William Alanson White Psychoanalytic Society. He practices and leads numerous study groups in New York City and Port Washington, NY.

Karen Starr is the author of Repair of the Soul: Metaphors of Transformation in Judaism and Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2008). She is a candidate at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and a recipient of the Ruth Stein Prize. She is in private practice in New York City.

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