Bøker utgitt av Karnac Books

The challenges and crises that kept resurfacing in Michael and Batya Shoshani's work with extremely difficult patients hunted by anxieties of being, and in particular with perverse psychic organization, motivated them to write this book. It is an attempt to propose a clinical conceptualisation to enhance their understanding of these lost and confused patients, whose narcissistic struggle against human fate defies reality and truth, challenging the analyst and the analytic situation. Analysts, caught between their own perception of reality and truth and the wish to be empathetic to their patients' experiences and views of reality, often feel torn and as if standing on quicksand. Here, the authors are joining a contemporary movement in the psychoanalytic tradition whilst turning to other disciplines in order to better understand and explain the suffering of their patients. The use of literature, in particular the fictional works of Jorge Luis Borges; film, with an in-depth look at Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon (1992) and Denis Villeneuve's Incendies (2010); and philosophy, the ideas of Heidegger and how they link to those of Freud, coupled together with a solid grasp of psychoanalytic theory, such as reflections on Neville Symington's seminal theory of narcissism, interspersed with real-life case studies bring the chapters alive. Such interplay between the detailed clinical material and conceptual formulations to an interdisciplinary dialogue enables a different outlook that will enrich the ongoing professional discourse on these perplexing and illusive psychic phenomena.

One hundred (and one) tales to mark Salman Akhtar's one hundredth book! Divided into eight informative parts - Dr Akhtar's journey to psychoanalysis; the lessons he learned from his teachers, supervisors, and mentors; the teachings from his peers and colleagues; the benefits of clinical work; the impact of cultural difference; insights gained from students, supervisees, and audiences; his experiences of writing, editing, and publishing; and advice for those about to take their first steps - each section is packed full of incredible advice lightly given in a series of engaging anecdotes. Tales of Transformation: A Life in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis is the perfect book for trainees, practising clinicians, those considering psychoanalysis as a career path, anyone with an interest in the subject, and all who enjoy reading the recollections of a witty raconteur.

It is important to point out that these essays are about character types; it is not to suggest that all borderlines, narcissists or manic depressives are the same. Everyone is an individual and are who they are for many different reasons. What they have in common is a typical relation between their subjectivity and the world they inhabit. In other words, Christopher Bollas has identified the axioms that these individuals share. Following a discussion of the features of each type, the axioms are delivered in the character's own voice. By placing ourselves within their own logic, we can begin to identify and empathise with them. At the root of all character disorders there is mental pain and each disorder is an intelligent attempt to solve an existential problem. If the clinician can grasp their specific intelligence and help the analysand to understand this, then a natural process of healing can begin. Three Characters is a masterclass based on decades of lectures presented to psychoanalysts, analytical psychologists, and psychotherapists, and is a must-read for all psychoanalytic enthusiasts.

The demands of the high-performance athlete are huge, with many celebrated for their achievements, and put on a pedestal for admired personality traits such as discipline, sacrifice, commitment, and focus. This book seeks to explore the celebrated traits of the high-performance athlete and, by doing so, to increase awareness of the vulnerability that such traits also present. Through discussion with professional sports people and presentation of their own personal stories the book explores obsessionality, masochism, and focus, and how these characteristics can enhance performance on the field yet hinder life off it and may even develop into clinically diagnosable mental health difficulties. In psychology, assessments are based on statistical phenomena; the title Skewed to the Right is based on the 'bell curve' that is shown through a graph whereby the majority sit in the middle with a few clusters at either on of the extremes. The suggestion is that elite athletes are 'skewed to the right' on a number of key traits that put them between the 'general' population and those with a clinical diagnosis. The book opens with an exploration of weight-restricted sport and how making weight is achieved through practices that become culturally acceptable in the sporting world yet would be seen to be classified as clinically diagnosable eating disorders in the medical world. It then moves on to personality traits that help and hinder - those skewed to the right: masochism, obsessionality, and focus. Part 3 looks at one trait skewed to the left - acceptance - that many sportspeople struggle with. The book closes with a section exploring points of vulnerability for all athletes and ends with a look at where we can go from here. The aim of the book is to increase social awareness of the reality of life for the successful high-performance athlete and the challenging dynamics that exist in sporting culture today. It will be of interest to psychologists, psychotherapists, trainees, and anyone with an interest in sporting culture.

An investigation into the importance of language in terms of identity, culture and the meaning of "home". For those interested in understanding the role multilingualism plays in people's lives, it traverses the personal experiences of therapists from Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as their work with patients from diverse parts of the world.

Manuel Perez-Sanchez has presented a very vivid description of a baby's first year of life. Direct observational material is lent understanding through the combination of his and Esther Bick's thoughts regarding the weekly infant observations. We read how the baby progresses from a state of unintegration in which the anxious baby requires the containing presence of the parents and uses primitive bodily methods of providing protection against anxiety in their absence. We then move to a more comfortable stage in which the baby has introjected the parents as providing a sense of internal security. We see how each step in the baby's development involves a reciprocal change in the parents' relationship to the baby.

Stelios Kiosses invites us into the therapy room to experience the unfolding of some incredible stories of peopleâEUR(TM)s not-so-everyday lives. A revealing and sensitive portrayal of what happens in psychotherapy sessions accompanied by absorbing explorations of the theories underpinning the therapy.

In this gripping book, Professor Brett Kahr examines the nature of criminality throughout history, exploring the ways in which we have progressed from the ancient methods of torture and the execution of offenders to a more humane and psychologically sophisticated approach.

The New Sexual Landscape and Contemporary Psychoanalysis surveys modern sex culture and suggests ways psychoanalysis can update its theories and practice to meet the novel needs of today's generations.

Body Psychotherapy for the 21st Century looks at the wider psychotherapy field, bringing awareness of embodiment into what has been a verbally oriented profession. Engaging with neuroscience, phenomenology and cognitive studies, as well as the relational turn in psychotherapy.

This volume explores contemporary notions of normality and how the therapy profession is engaging with that question today. Can 'being normal' ever be observed and tested? Who defines the norm of the mental health? Is it constrained by a social concept of normal? And how do we ever reach an understanding of 'not normal'.

This book is for anyone in the caring professions who seeks to practice therapy with the earth in mind, and for those struggling with eco-anxiety or eco-grief who wish to deepen their relationship with the Earth and find hope in turbulent times.

This book takes us through the key concepts of trauma and dissociation, showing how to work successfully with people who have experienced all degrees of trauma, from working with complex, childhood attachment ruptures to traumatic incidents in later life.

Pathologies of the Self draws on almost 40 years of clinical practice to explore the nature and structure of human identity. In this fascinating book Phil Mollon explores narcissistic phenomena in both the clinic and everyday life, demonstrating the illusory nature of the self, and showing how, beneath our defences, we are all 'borderline'.

Describing the neuroscientific basis for effective psychotherapy, Professor Holmes draws on the Free Energy Principle, which holds that, through 'active inference' - agency and model revision - the brain minimises discrepancies between incoming experience and its pre-existing picture of the world.

What stands between us and authoritarianism seems increasingly fragile. Democratic practices are under attack by foreign intrusion into elections; voter suppression restricts citizen participation. Nations are turning to autocratic leaders in the face of rapid social change. Democratic values and open society can only be preserved if citizens can discover and claim their voices. We access society through our organisations, yet the collective voices and irrationalities of these organisations do not currently offer clear pathways for individuals to locate themselves. How can we move through the mounting chaos of our social systems, through our multiple roles in groups and institutions, to find a voice that matters? What kind of perspective will allow institutional leaders to facilitate the discovery of active citizenship and support engagement?This book draws on psychodynamic systems thinking to offer a new understanding of the journey from being an individual to joining society as a citizen. With detailed stories, the steps – and the conscious and unconscious linkages – from being a family member, to entering outside groups, to taking up and making sense of institutional roles, illuminate the process of claiming the citizen role. With the help of leaders who recognise and utilise the dynamics of social systems, there may be hope for us as citizens to use our institutional experiences to discover a place to stand.

A fascinating collection that casts a psychoanalytic lens over what is happening in today's world with the rise of fundamentalism, prejudice, fascism, and neoliberalism.