Stefano Bolognini, who is president of the International Psychoanalytical Association explores the usefulness of the cat-flap as a psychoanalytic metaphor in his book ‘Secret Passages : The Theory and Technique of Interpsychic Relations’ (2011 – Routledge). The book is reviewed by Professor Cordelia Schmidt Hellerau in an essay entitled ‘SECRET PASSAGES:SOPHISTICATING THE CAT-FLAP’ (in: Psychoanalytic […]
Tag: psychoanalysis
The Psychoanalytic Geography of Alan Partridge
Preamble: Alan Gordon Partridge is a (fictional) TV and Radio presenter, based in Norfolk, UK. For further info, Youtube currently hosts a three-part (fictional) TV documentary about his (fictional) life : part 1 part 2 part 3 What have Lacan and Foucalt to do with Alan Partridge? For answers, see the work of Paul Kingsbury, […]
A psychiatrist reviews a science book for kids about excrement
Interesting perspective, you may think to yourself, if you read this noted psychiatrist‘s review of a book about the science related to excrement: The book: From Food to Fertilizer, the Role of Excrement in the Life Cycle, Charles C. Dahlberg, Young Scott Books, Reading, Massachusetts, 1973. The review: “Not So Execrable,” Richard A. Gardner, Contemporary Psychoanalysis […]
Lacan meets Austin Powers (comedic skin eruptions)
If you’re interested in Lacanian ‘drives’, the philosophical aspects of skin, and Austin Powers, then you can do no better than consult chapter two of ‘Skin, Culture and Psychoanalysis’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) which explores connections between all three. The chapter, entitled ‘Comedic skin eruptions: A Psychoanalytic reading of Austin Powers’ is authored by Sheila Kunkle, who […]
Santa Claus on the couch
CLICK-CAUTION: the following may contain spoilers regarding the ‘reality’ (or otherwise) of Santa. Santa is an essential part of Christmas. But can Santa be understood through the psychoanalytic concepts of fetishism, ambivalence and narcissism? Some say yes, he can. Take for example Dr. Robert Cluley PhD, currently Lecturer in Marketing at Nottingham University Business School, […]
Fun psychoanalysis exercise: Analyse “Effectiveness—Approved”
If you are a psychoanalyst, here’s a fun, therapeutic exercise to keep your basic skills sharp: Apply your psychoanalytic skills to analyze a simple statement. Where the statement came from: The statement was given to the public by the American Psychological Association (APA). The statement: It’s a simple statement — about 2400 simple words long, clarified […]
Dirty blackboards, psychologically
Blackboard research, then and now: “The Blackboard as an Analytic Accessory,” G.V. Hamilton, Psychoanalytical Review, vol. 20, 1933, pp. 388-400. The author explains: ” My acceptance of Freud’s theory of mind came slowly. I now know that over a period of nearly two decades I was unconsciously resisting its implications and that facts which seemed […]