Issues in Psychoanalysis and Psychology

About the Book

The thirty-four journal articles, book reviews and conference papers collected in this volume were written over the same period of time as the author's three clinical monographs (Psychoanalytic theory and clinical relevance [Analytic Press, 1985], Substance abuse as symptom [Analytic Press, 1991], and Psychotherapy as praxis [Trafford, 2002]). While the books provide broad critiques of clinical, societal and philosophical issues in psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and general psychology, the papers enlarge on specific subtopics, including some not addressed in the monographs.

The chapters in the present work are grouped into four subject areas:
Part I-conceptual frameworks;
Part II-psychotherapy and psychoanalysis;
Part III-society and culture; and
Part IV-general psychology.

Individual topics explored under these rubrics span a wide, diverse spectrum including neonatal models, personality theory, psychoanalytic defense analysis, the false memory syndrome, physical reductionism in psychiatry, ontology of language, mental health policies in the work place, psychological testing in forensic settings, national drug policy, and conflict resolution. These more narrowly focused papers collectively complement and further illuminate the general critiques presented in the author's previous books.

Most of the separate Parts and individual Chapters are preceded by new Introductions which were written specifically for this collection.

About the Author

Louis S. Berger's rich professional life spans the fields of clinical psychology (Ph.D.), engineering (B.S.E.E.), physics (M.S.), and music (M.M.). Formerly he has been on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville School of Medicine, the Staff Psychologist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, and consultant to various mental health and forensic organizations. He also has an extensive research background in applied physics and biomedicine, and for a decade was a cellist with the Boston Symphony.

Dr. Berger is the author of Substance abuse as symptom: A psychoanalytic critique of treatment approaches and the cultural beliefs that sustain them (The Analytic Press, 1991), Psychoanalytic theory and clinical relevance: What makes a theory consequential for practice? (The Analytic Press, 1985), Introductory statistics: A new approach for the behavioral sciences (International Universities Press, 1981), and numerous journal papers and book reviews. Currently he is in private clinical practice in San Antonio, Texas.

Also by Louis S. Berger:
Psychotherapy as Praxis: Abandoning Misapplied Science