Thresholds Between Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Papers From the Philadelphia Association

by Robin Cooper

The Philadelphia Association is always linked with the name of R. D. Laing, one of its founders, but very little is known about its unorthodox contribution to the development of psychoanalysis. Founded in 1965, it took as its aim the relief of mental illnesss of all desciptions, in particular schizophrenia. At its inception it was a focus for people, with a diversity of backgrounds and interests, concerned with 'mental illness' and how society defines it. Its members - who included psychoanalysis, psychiatrists and artists - developed a philosophical critique of psychoanalysis grounded in phenomenology, and an 'anti-psychiatry' critique of the institutional treatment of the mentally ill. They favoured the setting up of therapeutic community households of which the best known was Kingsley Hall. The PA was then very much part of the counter culture - it staged, for example, the famous Dialectics of Liberation Congress at London's Roundhouse in 1967. The psychotherapists who currently belong to the Philadelphia Association continue to work with community households and to offer a psychotherapy training. Here the authors share their innovative and distinctive approach on a number of interrelated themes: the herapeutic community and differend ways it can be understood; work with deeply regresed patients; the concept of identity in a social context; the debate between Lacan and Derrida on Poe's 'The Purloined Letter'; the phenomenology of knowledge and transference and authority. Together, they offer a cogent critique of many psychiatric and psychonalaytic assumptions. The contributors are Robin Cooper, Joseph friedman, Steven Gans, John Heaton, Chris Oakley, Haya Oakley and Paul Zeal. They are all psychotherapists and members of the Philadelphia Association.

205 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Robert Popper is a multi-award winning writer, producer and performer, and best-selling author.

Robert produced Peep Show for Channel 4, winning a BAFTA for series 4 and British Comedy Awards for both series 3 and 4. With Peter Serafinowicz, Robert created, starred in and composed the music for the BBC 2 spoof science comedy, Look Around You, winning the Rose D’or for Best Comedy in 2006 plus a BAFTA nomination.

Robert has written on a number of shows, including BBC’s BAFTA-winning Harry & Paul, and The Peter Serafinowicz Show. He has also script-edited some of the country’s most exciting comedy programmes, including the multi award-winning The Inbetweeners, Graham Linehan’s EMMY award-winning IT Crowd, Peep Show series 5, 6 & 7 and Him & Her.

As a Commissioning Editor for comedy at Channel 4, Robert commissioned Bo’ Selecta!, helped develop The IT Crowd, oversaw two series of Black Books, as well as series 2 of Spaced, and ran Comedy Labs.

Under his pseudonym, Robin Cooper, he wrote The Timewaster Letters books, which have so far sold over 300,000 copies.

Robert apperared regularly on Charlie Higson & Paul Whitehouse’s Sony Award-winning Radio 4 series, Down the Line, as well as their BBC2 show, Bellamy’s People. He also appeared in Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s movie, Hot Fuzz, saying just three words – “I’m not Janine”, and worked in Los Angeles as a writer on Sacha Baron Cohen’s movie, Bruno.

In December 2008, Robert set up his own production company, Popper Pictures, to make comedy TV shows.

Robert and Peter created the online afterlife comedy, The Other Side (Radio Spiritworld), as well as the online world religion, Tarvuism (www.tarvu.com).

In 2010, Robert wrote on series 14 of South Park in LA. His six part comedy series, Friday Night Dinner – starring Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Paul Ritter, Tom Rosenthal and Mark Heap – which Robert wrote and produced – aired on Channel 4 in 2011, winning the Rose D’or for Best Sitcom and a BAFTA nomination.

A pilot of Friday Night Dinner was recently produced in the US for NBC by Greg Daniels, creator of King of The Hill, and US producer of The Office. Robert recently starred alongside Steve Coogan in Sky’s forthcoming ‘Alan Partidge on Open Books’ which goes out in July. The second series of Friday Night Dinner starts on Channel 4 on October 7th, along with a Christmas Special at – well, Christmas.