1st Edition

The Brain, the Mind and the Self A psychoanalytic road map

By Arnold Goldberg Copyright 2015
    172 Pages
    by Routledge

    172 Pages
    by Routledge

    Psychoanalysis enjoyed an enormous popularity at one time, but has recently fallen out of favor as new psychiatric medications have dominated the treatment of mental illness and a new interest in the brain and neuroscience begins to dominate the theory as to the cause and cure of mental illness.

    How do we distinguish between the brain, the mind and the self? In his new book, Arnold Goldberg approaches this question from a psychoanalytic perspective, and examines how recent research findings can shed light on it. He repositions psychoanalysis as an interpretive science that is a different activity to most other sciences that are considered empirical.

    Giving clear coverage of the various psychoanalytic models of the mind and the self, Goldberg examines how these theories fare against neuroscientific evidence, and what implications these have for psychoanalytic clinical practice. The Brain, the Mind and the Self: A psychoanalytic road map sets up evidence-based, robust psychoanalytic theory and practice that will give psychoanalysts, social workers and practicing psychologists a valuable insight into the future of psychoanalysis.

    Arnold Goldberg, M.D. was born and raised in Chicago and trained at the University of Illinois, Michael Reese Hospital and the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago. He is recently retired from the Cynthia Oudejans Harris MD chair, and Professor of Psychiatry at Rush Medical Center.

    Introduction. PART I -Distinguishing the Brain, the Mind and the Self. The Brain, the Mind, and the Self: Three Conundrums in Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis. On Understanding Understanding: How We Understand the Meaning of the Word "Understanding". On the Scientific Status of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. A Psychoanalysis Independent of Psychiatry. The Concept of Normality and Psychopathology in Psychoanalysis. PART II - The Newer Models of the Mind and the Self. Being Kept in Mind. The Many Meanings of Empathy. Self Empathy. PART III - Clinical Examples of the Special Role of Psychoanalysis. The Danger in Diversity. Reflections on Enthusiasm. On Outrage and the Need to be Mad. Carving Out a Place for Psychoanalysis. The Future.

     

    Biography

    Arnold Goldberg, M.D. is a Chicagoan born and raised in Chicago and trained at the University of Illinois, Michael Reese Hospital, and the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago,  He is recently retired from the Cynthia Oudejans Harris MD chair, and Professor of Psychiatry at Rush Medical Center.

    "Overall, this is an interesting book addressing the course and trajectory of psychoanalysis. Despite a complex subject area, the writing within this book is clear and concise while making important arguments about the unique nature of psychoanalysis and its movements away from psychiatry." - Katherine McKay, McMaster University, Metapsychology, January 2016

    The Brain, the Mind, and The Self: A Psychoanalytic Roadmap, Arnold Goldberg, who over the past half century has been one of the liveliest and most penetrating minds in psychoanalysis grapples with the curious, complicated and confusing relations between psychoanalysis, psychiatry, and neuroscience. What is the relation of the mind to the brain, psychopharmacology to psychotherapy, psychiatry to psychoanalysis? How ought we to think of the Self? Is psychoanalysis primarily a method of treating emotional distress and disfunction or a form of inquiry whose end is knowledge? Which patients do best with which sorts of treatment and how are mental health professionals trained to decide? At a time marked by widening gaps in understanding between mental health professionals and between mental health professionals and people seeking treatment, Goldberg provides a brilliant and illuminating guide to the perplexed. - Jeffrey Stern, Ph.D., Faculty, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, President of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society, Associate Editor of The Annual of Psychoanalysis.