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Search for the Self Selected Writings of Heinz Kohut
Blue cloth hardbacks with gilt lettering on spine, Volume 1 and 2. Paul Ornstein Intl Universities Pr Inc kohut, heinz, writings, selected, search 1978-07 English Psychoanalysis, Psychology & Counseling, Health, Fitness & Dieting, 0823684040 9780823684045 Hardcover List 97.50 USD
- GenresNonfiction
Hardcover
First published December 1, 1978
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May 30, 2021
So let's consider the following scenario: A kid is pouring some milk in a bowl of cereal and, as it often happens, spills the stuff all over the place.
Now you all know the kind of parent that would prance up to a situation like this and fly into a rage of tears or colorful metaphors, demanding that the kid clean up this mess immediately. Then there's the parent that would get down to the child's level, look them in the face and say, "Oh, you had a spill? That's okay. Here's a paper towel. Can you clean it all up? There you go! Good job! Yeah!"
Think about your interactions with your own children, or maybe those that your parents had with you. Which interaction would you rather and why? Kohut explains the why in his brilliant body of work that revolutionized parenting and turned the Freudian idea of psychopathology with an unconsciously sexual focus on its head while still respecting the path paved by the father of psychiatry.
One of my professional regrets is that I was born too late to train under Heinz Kohut. Though I initially did train in psychoanalysis, I've not lived or practiced anywhere where a purely psychoanalytic approach would be viable. But despite the largely neurobiological nature that my practice has taken over the years, Kohut's thought has probably influenced my approach to patients, and to life in general, more than any other of the masters in the field of psychiatry and psychology.
This book is the first volume of the four-part mega-collection of Kohut's writings called "The Search for the Self," and was one of two published during Kohut's lifetime. Volume One largely consists of book reviews and speeches he had written from early in his Chicago career to his later presidency of the American Psychoanalytic Association. These writings were chosen by editor Paul Ornstein to help illustrate the growth of Kohut's philosophy and theories prior to the publication of his seminal work, "The Analysis of the Self." But I think these selections also give the reader an intimate look at Kohut's personality, what he might have been like as a teacher, a boss, or a friend.
What we see is a very gentle soul who had seen the face of evil when the Nazis invaded Austria. Though unlike many European Jews, he was able to escape to America, the impact of his experience with evil led him on a quest for a deeper understanding of the human mind, not just to know what makes a biological intelligence turn bad, but to have a chance to undo the kind of pain that comes when the mind has been traumatized.
Among these essays are some interesting discussion and application of analytic theory to musical composition and the various responses people have to different types of music. There's also two essays on the literature of Thomas Mann, in particular "Death in Venice." But most singular of all is that this book contains perhaps the most concise yet comprehensive introduction to basic psychoanalytic theory I've ever read. If you are at all curious about how psychoanalysis works, you should definitely seek out this chapter.
Most important of all is the outline of Kohut's theories early in his career that led to the birth of self-psychology from Freudian classical analysis. Kohut saw that EMPATHY was the primary tool for organizing the vast psychological data you obtain through the course of therapy about a person's inner world. Through empathy, the therapist begins to understand the genetics of what has led to the patient's current difficulties, and helps them find relief from the tensions of inner psychic conflict that create interpersonal difficulties, anxiety, depression, obsessions, pathologic narcissism, and even psychotic states. Through his empathic observations, he saw a pattern behind the kind of parenting that his patients experienced. All people go though disappointments, challenges, and difficult changes in life from the time they are born. We can't always get what we think we want. But how we are raised greatly influences our outlook on life and how we maintain a cohesive sense of self through it all. Though he did not use the term "resilience," his work greatly contributed to this modern goal in mental health and wellness.
"The differences between childhood experiences of traumatic and of optimal frustration are differences in degree. It is the difference between one mother’s harsh 'NO!' and another mother’s kindly 'no.' It is the difference between a frightening kind of prohibition, on the one hand, and an educational experience, on the other. It is the difference between one father’s handling a child’s temper tantrum by an equally hostile countertantrum and another father’s picking up the child and calming him —firm but nonaggressive, and loving but not seductive. It is the difference between an uncompromising prohibition, which stresses only what the child must not have or cannot do, and the offering of acceptable substitutes for the forbidden object or activity."
Though this book was intended for a professional audience well versed in analytic concepts, the variety of topics and the use of introductory language to describe theories that were not yet fully formulated make this a fairly good entry point for anyone interested in human psychology, especially for those who think it is all about penis envy and wanting to have sex with your mother.
Now you all know the kind of parent that would prance up to a situation like this and fly into a rage of tears or colorful metaphors, demanding that the kid clean up this mess immediately. Then there's the parent that would get down to the child's level, look them in the face and say, "Oh, you had a spill? That's okay. Here's a paper towel. Can you clean it all up? There you go! Good job! Yeah!"
Think about your interactions with your own children, or maybe those that your parents had with you. Which interaction would you rather and why? Kohut explains the why in his brilliant body of work that revolutionized parenting and turned the Freudian idea of psychopathology with an unconsciously sexual focus on its head while still respecting the path paved by the father of psychiatry.
One of my professional regrets is that I was born too late to train under Heinz Kohut. Though I initially did train in psychoanalysis, I've not lived or practiced anywhere where a purely psychoanalytic approach would be viable. But despite the largely neurobiological nature that my practice has taken over the years, Kohut's thought has probably influenced my approach to patients, and to life in general, more than any other of the masters in the field of psychiatry and psychology.
This book is the first volume of the four-part mega-collection of Kohut's writings called "The Search for the Self," and was one of two published during Kohut's lifetime. Volume One largely consists of book reviews and speeches he had written from early in his Chicago career to his later presidency of the American Psychoanalytic Association. These writings were chosen by editor Paul Ornstein to help illustrate the growth of Kohut's philosophy and theories prior to the publication of his seminal work, "The Analysis of the Self." But I think these selections also give the reader an intimate look at Kohut's personality, what he might have been like as a teacher, a boss, or a friend.
What we see is a very gentle soul who had seen the face of evil when the Nazis invaded Austria. Though unlike many European Jews, he was able to escape to America, the impact of his experience with evil led him on a quest for a deeper understanding of the human mind, not just to know what makes a biological intelligence turn bad, but to have a chance to undo the kind of pain that comes when the mind has been traumatized.
Among these essays are some interesting discussion and application of analytic theory to musical composition and the various responses people have to different types of music. There's also two essays on the literature of Thomas Mann, in particular "Death in Venice." But most singular of all is that this book contains perhaps the most concise yet comprehensive introduction to basic psychoanalytic theory I've ever read. If you are at all curious about how psychoanalysis works, you should definitely seek out this chapter.
Most important of all is the outline of Kohut's theories early in his career that led to the birth of self-psychology from Freudian classical analysis. Kohut saw that EMPATHY was the primary tool for organizing the vast psychological data you obtain through the course of therapy about a person's inner world. Through empathy, the therapist begins to understand the genetics of what has led to the patient's current difficulties, and helps them find relief from the tensions of inner psychic conflict that create interpersonal difficulties, anxiety, depression, obsessions, pathologic narcissism, and even psychotic states. Through his empathic observations, he saw a pattern behind the kind of parenting that his patients experienced. All people go though disappointments, challenges, and difficult changes in life from the time they are born. We can't always get what we think we want. But how we are raised greatly influences our outlook on life and how we maintain a cohesive sense of self through it all. Though he did not use the term "resilience," his work greatly contributed to this modern goal in mental health and wellness.
"The differences between childhood experiences of traumatic and of optimal frustration are differences in degree. It is the difference between one mother’s harsh 'NO!' and another mother’s kindly 'no.' It is the difference between a frightening kind of prohibition, on the one hand, and an educational experience, on the other. It is the difference between one father’s handling a child’s temper tantrum by an equally hostile countertantrum and another father’s picking up the child and calming him —firm but nonaggressive, and loving but not seductive. It is the difference between an uncompromising prohibition, which stresses only what the child must not have or cannot do, and the offering of acceptable substitutes for the forbidden object or activity."
Though this book was intended for a professional audience well versed in analytic concepts, the variety of topics and the use of introductory language to describe theories that were not yet fully formulated make this a fairly good entry point for anyone interested in human psychology, especially for those who think it is all about penis envy and wanting to have sex with your mother.
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