R. D. Hinshelwood

I knew NOTHING about Melanie Klein when I plunged into this reading, but this is due to the fact that I have been trying to get ahead of my university syllabus. I'll be honest, I've never been too fond of the Introducing series -- I don't know if it is the images, hand drawn and eye-catching as they are, or something else. I do believe this series is sharp at linking the personal lives of the world's greatest minds together with their work, providing rich insight into the own inner workings of these individuals in relation to their perspectives and achievements.

I find that her theories are a tad complicating, although fascinating. I did not really care for her theories concerning child development -- I will not lie, a partial reason is that I found them to be too difficult for me to understand thoroughly. I very much preferred her views on coping stages for depression and loss, and she seemed to reflect these stages herself in her personal life.

As for another confession (what is up with me today?), I will have to say that I have difficulty swallowing these older theories of child psychology when they naturally hold no conversations concerning gay parenting. Or single parenting for that matter! And now that mothers are lightened slightly of their breast-feeding responsibilities through feeding their infants using bottles more frequently, I do not know how much credibility Klein's work holds in the modern day. And does the breast-feeding of a wet-nurse carry the same psychological impacts on the child as the "original", birthing mother?

The book itself is approachable and can be read in two or three sittings with little effort. The drawings are bold and snarky, typical of the Introducing series, and make for a pleasant touch, though I am unsure whether or not reading this book is the best way to approach Klein's theories.

If you want to read more of my reviews, check out my book blog!… (mer)

The 1940s was a time of great change in the psychoanalytic world. The War sounded a death blow to continental European psychoanalysis, with only two small societies remaining in Switzerland and Sweden; while Britain and the United States had to adapt to the influx of psychoanalytic refugees. The death of Freud at first brought uncertainty over the future of psychoanalysis but ultimately led to greater creative freedom in exploring new ideas and theories. These years marked the birth of post-Freudian issues. There was a reflective attitude towards psychoanalysis itself, caused by Freud's death and the diaspora of analysts. There were new debates on the relations between psychoanalysis and subjects such as philosophy and biology. There was a good deal of freedom to review metapsychology and ideas such as the development of group therapy, now established, were starting to take root.

A new generation of analysts began to emerge at this time, those who would become highly significant in the development of British psychoanalysis and the object-relations school in later years, including Ronald Fairbairn, Donald Winnicott, John Bowlby and Michael Balint. Winnicott and Bowlby were both essentially empirical and their work in these years were laying the basis for the renowned independent (or middle) group of psychoanalysts in the British Psychoanalytical Society. The 1940s marked an abundance of new ideas and new individuals that would grow to leave their mark on the subsequent decades.… (mer)

This work presents an approach derived from direct participant observation of small units within institutions, all in the health and social services sector. A range of contributors bring together the results of their own observational projects - in settings as diverse as a mental hospital canteen, an acute psychiatric admission ward and a palliative care unit - to show how they were able to come to a psychoanalytically informed understanding of the cultures that arise within healthcare organizations, and how this understanding can be used to overcome difficulties that arise. This work should help healthcare workers, teachers and managers better understand the functioning and difficulties of their organizations and therefore help in the management and practice of the work.

Details observations of what happens in various National Health Service settings. Does not give recommendations of what could be done about the dilemmas described, only presents the 'facts,' and leaves the response to the mind of the reader. For politicians to managers to those in clinical contact.… (mer)