New Books In Psychoanalysis

This episode delves into the intense conflicts surrounding race, history, and education in America, asking why classrooms have become such volatile battlegrounds. Moving beyond surface-level political or ideological debates, two psychoanalysts, Drs. Karyne Messina and Felecia Powell-Williams apply some of the tools of psychoanalysis to uncover the deeper, often unconscious, psychological forces at play. The discussion explores how the enduring legacy of racism in the United States, particularly the unacknowledged weight of historical trauma and guilt related to anti-Blackness, fuels a societal "War on Knowing." Central to this analysis are the defense mechanisms mobilized, both individually and collectively, to ward off the psychic pain associated with confronting uncomfortable truths. The episode focuses particularly on Denial, examining its manifestation not just as simple lack of knowledge, but as an active refusal to acknowledge the ongoing realities of systemic racism, its historical roots, and its cont

In this episode, Matthew Pieknik and Christopher Russell speak with Gohar Homayounpour about her book Persian Blues, Psychoanalysis and Mourning (Routledge, 2023) Psychoanalysis is, Homayounpour tells us early in the interview, “a profession for dreamers, for people who don't know what to do with themselves. for freaks. This is not a profession for people in suits at universities who have a clear idea of the status quo. It's the absolute opposite. It's the carnival, you know, it's still unofficial, it's the subversive because that's the discourse of the unconscious. But this is a dangerous business, you know, and it should be for both analytic subjects in the room. I'm in favor of absence. I'm in favor of disturbance. I'm in favor of pollution and darkness. I think these are things that need to be celebrated.” In Persian Blues, Psychoanalysis and Mourning, Gohar Homayounpour plays a theme and variations on loss, love, and family against the backdrop of Iran’s chaotic recent past. Homayounpour is simultaneousl

The recent removal of information about Black, Indigenous, and female military personnel from the Arlington National Cemetery’s website exemplifies how cancel culture intersects with broader societal dynamics, particularly in the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Under directives from the Department of Defense, pages highlighting notable veterans, such as Colin Powell, Jackie Roberson and members of the Tuskegee Airmen were deleted. These actions align with executive orders targeting DEI efforts in federal agencies, raising concerns about historical erasure and its implications for marginalized groups. This form of cancel culture—removing or altering narratives—reflects a modern-day example of erasure as a defense mechanism. Psychoanalytic theory offers insights into this phenomenon, particularly through concepts like repression and the “return of the repressed.” Erasure can be seen as a defense against confronting uncomfortable truths about systemic inequities or historical injus

In Anatomy of a Psychotic Experience (Ipbooks, 2022), psychoanalyst Richard Reichbart recounts a psychotic experience when he was in his thirties juxtaposing an account written a few years after the experience with reflections made decades later. This unique work captures both the subjective experience of a particular kind of psychosis, and the analytic interpretation of that experience. "He graphically portrays both the feel and the logic of a psychotic episode foreshadowed by his separation from college and from law school and ultimately precipitated by the loss of his beloved grandfather. His search for his identity led him to the Navajo reservation which was 'ideal for the nurturance of my psychosis.' He gives testimony to the help he received from two outstanding psychoanalysts who worked with him to unpack and weave together the effects of childhood events and fantasies on his adult personality. A book for those at all levels of psychoanalysis, one that demonstrates the possibility of psychoanalyzing ps

Today I began my discussion with Dr. Adrian Perkel about his new book Unlocking The Nature of Human Aggression: A Psychoanalytic and Neuroscientific Approach (Routledge, 2024)  “Aggression is to the mind what the immune system is to the body. It doesn’t seek the fight.” With this perfect mind-body analogy Dr. Perkel proposes a clear way to think theoretically and work clinically with aggression. Throughout the book he links Freud’s formulations of the psyche with contemporary physics and biochemistry. Perkel’s assertion that “Where the aggressive drive goes, so therein lies the solution to many of the psychological problems that present to us in life” is broadly summarized in three essential points: 1. The aggressive drive in the human psyche has the aim of reducing stimuli and excitations brought on by internal and external impingements - it is not looking for a fight. 2. What constitutes a threat or impingement is not necessarily objective - in fact it is always filtered through subjective experience and th

Dr. Karyne Messina, host of this series, and Dr. Felecia Powell-Williams, the co-host, talked about what happens when people can’t listen. They discussed events that occurred at the Annual Conference of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) that took place in San Francisco earlier this month and the half time show at Super Bowl 59. Dr. Powell-Williams, who attend the conference, said she left the APsA meeting holding a multitude of emotions. “On one level it was a satisfying reunification of parts of the organization that were split off due to fear or intolerance of exploring difference.” She added that as a guest on the Holmes Commission’s panel when Sam Cooke's song was played, “It's Been a Long Time Coming,” it resonated with her life experiences. She said she thought the attendees were very moved as well as they listened to the song together. Both hosts talked about the meaning of the words and how important it is to listen and take in the essence of the message. Dr. Messina introduced Kendrick L

Not so long ago, comedy and laughter were a shared experience of relief, as Freud famously argued. At their best, ribbing, roasting, piss-taking and insulting were the foundation of a kind of universal culture from which friendship, camaraderie and solidarity could emerge. Now, comedy is characterized by edgy humour and misplaced jokes that provoke personal and social anxiety, causing divisive cultural warfare in the media and among people. Our comedy is fraught with tension like never before, and so too is our social life. We often hear the claim that no one can take a joke anymore. But what if we really can’t take jokes anymore? Post-Comedy (Polity, 2025) argues that the spirit of comedy is the first step in the building of society, but that it has been lost in the era of divisive identity politics. Comedy flares up debates about censorship and cancellation, keeping us divided from one other. This goes against the true universalist spirit of comedy, which is becoming a thing of the past and must be recovere

Passion, Shame, and the Freedom to Become: Seizing the Vital Moment in Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2025), by Peter Shabad, examines how humans can overcome feelings of shame through self‑acceptance and regain their innate passion and freedom to grow. Shabad examines in detail how self-shaming and passivity are intertwined with the fatalism of self-pity, envy, resentment, and ultimately, regret for not "seizing the vital moments" in life. From birth on, children attempt to contribute to the human endeavor through their innate passion. Parental receptivity enables a child to plant seeds of belonging, inspiring the generative passion necessary for furthering development. Exposed vulnerability due to the lack of receptivity leads to feelings of shame and self-consciousness; as human beings, we interpret our misfortunes and limitations as punishments and reverse our passion into an inhibited passivity. Shabad envisions psychotherapy as a pathway through which individuals learn to inclusively accept all aspects of t

Perversions of the Market: Sadism, Masochism, and the Culture of Capitalism (SUNY Press, 2024) argues that capitalism fosters sadism and masochism--not as individual psychological proclivities but as widespread institutionalized patterns of behavior. The book is divided into two parts: one historical and the other theoretical. In the first, Eugene W. Holland shows how, as capital becomes global in scale and drives production and consumption farther and farther apart, it perverts otherwise free markets, transforming sadism and masochism into borderline conditions and various supremacisms. The second part then turns to Deleuze and Guattari's 'schizoanalysis,' explaining how it helpfully embeds Freud's analysis of the family and Lacan's analysis of language within an analysis of the capitalist market and its psycho-dynamics. Drawing on literature and film throughout to illuminate the discontents of modern culture, Holland maintains that the sadistic relations of production and masochistic relations of consumptio

A few moments after birth we begin to use our lungs for the first time. From then on, we must continue breathing for as long as we are alive. And although this mostly happens unconsciously, in a society plagued by anxiety, climate change, environmental racism, and illness, there are more and more instances that “teach us about the privilege that is breathing.” Why do we so easily forget the air that we breathe in common? What does it mean to breathe when the environment that sustains life now threatens it? And how can life continue to flourish under conditions that are increasingly toxic?  To approach these questions, Jamieson Webster draws on psychoanalytic theory and reflects on her own experiences as an asthmatic teenager, a deep-sea diver, a palliative psychologist during COVID, a psychoanalyst attentive to the somatic, and a new mother. The result is a compassionate and timely exploration of air and breathing as a way to undo the pervasive myth of the individual by considering our dependence on invisible

In this episode my co-host and I had planned to talk about how the new Trump administration could create unity in America. The episode title had been, “Starting with a Clean Slate: How the Trump administration could create unity in America.” By starting anew, without a political agenda, we intended to explore how a new sense of community and pride in America could evolve. However, after the group in charge eliminated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in a day, we felt we needed to talk about the new way a greater divide in America is evolving and how psychoanalytic defense mechanisms can inform us about new dilemmas we are facing as a nation. Denial, for example, appeared to be a part of what occurred. By refusing to acknowledge the existence or importance of systemic inequalities that DEI programs aimed to address, dismantling them is essentially denying reality. Since discrimination, inequity and racism are at an all-time high in our country, eliminating programs that were designed to improve t

Today I spoke to Dr. Carl Waitz about his new book Youth Mental Health Crises and the Broken Social Link: A Freudian-Lacanian Perspective (Routledge, 2024). “The kids are not ok” blurbs Patricia Gherovici in her endorsement of Dr. Waitz’ necessary new book. We know this. On the weekend we recorded this interview (February 9, 2025) the New York Times published research[1] showing national trendlines from 1990-2024. Rates of depression and suicide; up. Life expectancy and satisfaction; down. Dr. Waitz cites data from 2015-2020 showing suicide as the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14. In discussion with colleagues at other hospitals they recognize that these numbers are “striking”. The topic of youth mental health has been on Dr. Waitz’ mind for a long time starting “as far back as when I first started working with adolescents. Even before I and went to graduate school for psychology.” Dr. Waitz’ clinical experience with this material over the years is evident in this thoughtfully researched boo

A Psychoanalytic Reflection on Narcissistic Parenthood and its Ramifications: The Forgotten Echo (Routledge, 2024) proposes a new perspective on narcissism, focusing on its destructive impact within relationships. Psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Hila Yahalom discusses the patterns and ramifications of traumatizing upbringing by narcissistic parents, exploring the resulting development of a defensive-behavioral pattern and personality structures in the child which constitutes a mirror image of narcissism. Yahalom assesses a wide range of psychoanalytic theories in presenting a broad outlook on narcissism, its roots, and the manner by which pathological narcissism may manifest in interpersonal relationships as ‘narcissistic abuse’. This book considers the narcissist’s perverted occupation of the psychic space of others, with both participants usually blind to the phenomenon – a blindness that is reenacted in therapy, affecting its course. This book contains clinical vignettes from the author’s work as well as ex

Life Studies in Psychoanalysis: Faces of Love (Routledge, 2023), by Dr. Ahron Friedberg, consists of four psychoanalytic studies each representing a patient's course of treatment over several years. These studies demonstrate how love, in an array of forms, is refracted through the process of psychoanalysis, which unfolds over time and reveals the complexities of human desire. The cases presented here cover topics including repressed homosexuality, a taboo desire for a sibling, obsession with a fantasy, an Oedipus complex, and transferences that become an initial obstacle to treatment. Dr. Ahron Friedberg offers professionals techniques for encouraging patients to remain in treatment when they become resistant, demoralized, or feel like they have hit a wall. As the studies proceed, each renders the non-linear progress of treatment, as layer upon layer of a patient's issues are brought to light and the patient slowly, often reluctantly, comes to terms with these issues. Life Studies in Psychoanalysis will be of

Udo Hock's Die rätselhaften Botschaften des Anderen. Zum Werk Jean Laplanches (The enigmatic messages of the other. On the work of Jean Laplanche), came out in 2024 with Psychosozial-Verlag, and collectes nine essays that Hock published over the past twenty years. Published in 2024 to celebrate Laplanche's centennial, these papers are a crucial contribution to Laplanche studies from one of its key actors. Hock is not only a reader and commentator of Laplanche, but also an editor and translator of many of Laplanche's German-language translations. Hock has a real eye for the complexities of Laplanche's work, and he thinks Laplanche together with other thinkers such as Žižek or figures of French Theory. Hock is steeped in French Theory and its milieu, of which he himself has been a member for the past forty years. He proposes to psychoanalysis a shift away from its monothematic anglophilia toward an appreciation of the French schools. I recommend reading closely these essays to anyone capable of reading German.

In Vocabulaire de Laplanche (PUF, 2024), edited by the renowned scholar and analyst, Hélène Tessier, several of the key readers of Jean Laplanche's work propose what is nothing short of a revelation for Laplanche studies. Theirs is a vocabulary that provides a concise and accessible dictionary of key Laplanchian terms, inviting readers of Laplanche's work to engage with the French psychoanalyst's work. In a wide-ranging conversation, professor Tessier delves into Laplanche's work, highlighting the importance of linking/dellinking to his thinking, establishing connections with sublimation and questions of culture and the drives. Tessier embarks on a real tour de force, reconstructing Laplanche's work with the utmost of passion. It was a wonderful conversation that has me ever convinced in stating that this book is a must-have for any Francophone psychoanalyst or scholar of psychonalysis. Interview conducted by Myriam Sauer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by beco

Clinician and psychoanalyst Jan Abram proposes and elaborates the dual concept of an intrapsychic surviving and non surviving object. She extends Winnicottian technique by highlighting the centrality of the analysand playing with the object. Across eight chapters she develops this theory of survival, while also exploring the terror of non-survival, and its implications for psychic health, the fear of WOMAN as underlying misogny; Winnicott's theory of desire; and the role of the father as part of a paternal integrate. Abram draws on the work of André Green and Thomas Ogden, and also makes use of a Japanese ukiyo-e to visualize her argument. This is an extraordinary volume on Winnicottian metapsychlogy by its foremost scholar, opening up some of the lesser known aspects of Winnicott's work. The Surviving Object: Psychoanalytic Clinical Essays on Psychic Survival-Of-The-Object (Routledge, 2021) transcends an established context of reference that emphasizes holding, by honing in on questions of formlessness, the

Amrita Narayanan is a practicing Clinical Psychologist (Psy.D. 2007) and Psychoanalyst (Indian Psychoanalytic Society, 2019). She is the author of Women's Sexuality and Modern India: In a Rapture of Distress (Oxford University Press, 2023). She was the Editor of and essayist in The Parrots of Desire: 3000 years of Erotica in India (Aleph Books, 2018) a collection of poems, short prose and fiction in translation from Indian languages, linked by an introductory essay on the central themes in Indian erotic literature. She was an essayist for Pha(bu)llus: a cultural history of the Phallus (Harper Collins, 2020). Amrita is currently visiting faculty at Ashoka University where she teaches classes at the undergraduate and masters level. Amrita's research interests are in cultural factors in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, the psychodynamics of women's sexual agency, and how cultural factors shape the aesthetics of women's sexual agency. Her writing has appeared in academic journals such as Psychodynamic Practice a

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Roberta Satow about her new book Our Time Is Up (Ipbooks, 2024). In 1895 Freud noticed that his case histories “read like short stories and that, as one might say, they lack the serious stamp of science.” What Dr. Satow has written works in the other direction; a novel that reads like case histories. She has accomplished the difficult task of representing what it feels like on both sides of the couch as her protagonist Rose is first a patient and then an analyst. This allows Satow to introduce multiple patients, each with resonant and recognizable temperaments. As a reader these characters present us with experiences of transference, counter transference, and the intimacy afforded by both. Intimacy is the affect running through the book. While much of Rose’s story is autobiographical, Satow the writer knew she needed a plot and gave herself license to invent the final chapter of Rose’s relationship with her analyst. This part of the story satisfies a fantasy many

Steven Swarbrick and Jean-Thomas Tremblay talk about negative life, which names the misalignment of individual and species survival, as a condition of thought and film. In developing this concept, they shed light on the gaps within the rhetoric of entanglement, and push against ethics and politics that insist on the values of human and nonhuman relations. Negative life already inheres in existing social relationships because the world is already broken. Steven and Jean-Thomas critique much of ecocriticism’s romantic attachment to contingencies and solutions that would have us ignore this truth. Steven Swarbrick is Associate Professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is the author of two books: The Environmental Unconscious: Ecological Poetics from Spenser to Milton (University of Minnesota Press, 2023) and The Earth Is Evil (forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press, “Provocations” series, 2025). He is a coauthor, with Jean-Thomas Tremblay, of Negative Life: The Cinema of