Idiomatic Expressions and Somatic Experience in Psychoanalysis examines how verbal and non-verbal language is used in the consulting room, and how those different modes of communication interact to provide a more comprehensive picture of the patient's relational world. It is the product of a comprehensive research project exploring the affinity between idiomatic expressions and somatic behaviors and symptoms. Idiomatic expressions are viewed as bridging the gap between somatic sensations and mental experiences. Ravit Raufman deals with one of the fundamental aspects in human life- the way our behavior is governed by unconscious primary experiences, suggesting methods by which to decipher patient behaviors that are apparently detached and unreasonable. The first part presents case studies of people who enact and revive verbal idiomatic expressions through their behavior. The second describes how therapists use non-verbal mechanisms, operating in their own minds, to understand their patients’ inner lives. Based on relational and inter-subjective approaches in psychoanalysis, the case studies illustrate the various ways in which the therapist's subjective experience is "objectively" used to learn about patients’ subjective relational experience, so as to verbally formulate experiences that are pre-verbal. Raufman combines Freudian ideas regarding the affinity between somatic symptoms and verbal expressions, with a contemporary relational perspective. The book combines scientific findings with a narrative style, including life-stories of various individuals, as well as a description of the therapist's own subjective experience. This book will appeal to clinical psychologists and psychoanalytic psychotherapists as well as anyone interested in understanding human psyche and behavior.

Scholars and students interested in Jewish folklore and literature will appreciate this diverse collection as well as readers interested in Jewish and Israeli culture.

Shows how literature can aid psychoanalysts in the understanding of psychological conflicts.

The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology provides a comprehensive overview of body-centered psychotherapies, which stress the centrality of the body to overcoming psychological distress, trauma, and mental illness. Psychologists and therapists are increasingly incorporating these somatic or body-oriented therapies into their practices, making mind-body connections that enable them to provide better care for their clients. Designed as a standard text for somatic psychology courses, The Handbook of Body Psychotherapy and Somatic Psychology contains 100 cutting-edge essays and studies by respected professionals from around the world on such topics as the historical roots of Body Psychotherapy; the role of the body in developmental psychology; the therapeutic relationship in Body Psychotherapy; and much more, as well as helpful case studies and essays on the use of Body Psychotherapy for specific disorders. This anthology will be indispensible for students of clinical and counseling psychology, somatic psychology, and various forms of body-based therapy (including dance and movement therapies), and is also an essential reference work for most practicing psychotherapists, regardless of their therapeutic orientation. Contributors: Gustl Marlock, Halko Weiss, Courtenay Young, Michael Soth, Ulfried Geuter, Judyth O. Weaver, Wolf E. Büntig, Nicholas Bassal, Michael Coster Heller, Heike Langfeld, Dagmar Rellensmann, Don Hanlon Johnson, Christian Gottwald, Andreas Wehowsky, Gregory J. Johanson, David Boadella, Alexander Lowen, Ian J. Grand, Marilyn Morgan, Stanley Keleman, Eugene T. Gendlin, Marion N. Hendricks-Gendlin, Michael Harrer, Ian J. Grand, Marianne Bentzen, Andreas Sartory, George Downing, Andreas Wehowsky, Marti Glenn, Ed Tronick, Bruce Perry, Susan Aposhyan, Mark Ludwig, Ute-Christiane Bräuer, Ron Kurtz, Christine Caldwell, Albert Pesso, Michael Randolph, William F. Cornell, Richard A. Heckler, Gill Westland, Lisbeth Marcher, Erik Jarlnaes, Kirstine Münster, Tilmann Moser, Frank Röhricht, Ulfried Geuter, Norbert Schrauth, Ilse Schmidt-Zimmermann, Peter Geissler, Ebba Boyesen, Peter Freudl, James Kepner, Dawn Bhat, Jacqueline Carleton, Ian Macnaughton, Peter A. Levine, Stanley Keleman, Narelle McKenzie, Jack Lee Rosenberg, Beverly Kitaen Morse, Angela Belz-Knöferl, Lily Anagnostopoulou, William F. Cornell, Guy Tonella, Sasha Dmochowski, Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar, Jacqueline A. Carleton, Manfred Thielen, Xavier Serrano Hortelano, Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton, Thomas Harms, Nicole Gäbler, John May, Rob Fisher, Eva R. Reich, Judyth O. Weaver, Barnaby B. Barratt, Sabine Trautmann-Voigt, Wiltrud Krauss-Kogan, Ilana Rubenfeld, Camilla Griggers, Serge K. D. Sulz, Nossrat Peseschkian, Linda H. Krier, Jessica Moore Britt, and Daniel P. Brown.

This book provides an extensive introduction and theoretical background to the field, situating psychoanalysis itself in contemporary culture. It shows the relevance of psychoanalysis beyond the consulting room to the understanding of human affairs in general.

Drawing on research in the fields of cognitive and developmental psychology, attachment, trauma, and neuroscience, as well as 20 years in forensic and private practice, Paul Renn deftly illustrates the ways in which this research may be used to inform an integrated empirical/hermeneutic model of clinical practice. He suggests that silent, invisible processes derived from the past maintain non-optimal ways of experiencing and relating in the present, and that a neuroscience understanding of the dynamic nature of memories, and of the way in which the implicit and explicit memory systems operate and interact, is salient to a concomitant understanding of trauma, personality development, and therapeutic action. Specifically, Renn argues that an intersubjective psychodynamic model can use the power of an emotionally meaningful therapeutic relationship to gradually facilitate both relational and neurological changes in patients with trauma histories. Taken as a whole, these themes reflect a paradigmatic shift in psychoanalytic thinking about clinical work and the process of change.

Here I’m Alive explores the musical foundation of being human from a psychoanalytic perspective. Writing in collaboration, three psychoanalytic clinicians develop a fresh vision of the essential role of music in psychical life. Through an interdisciplinary exploration, Here I’m Alive shows how music is fundamental to becoming human, establishing our embodied sense of membership and participation in a shared world through the fabric of culture. With one authorial voice, these pages resonate with the musical forms of living that make possible any individual style of conduct or shape of desire and without which we are forever lost in the noise.