Freud and Beyond : A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought

The definitive history of a century of psychoanalytic thought

“Absolutely crucial in reformulating the psychoanalytic project to meet the intellectual and emotional demands upon it a century after its birth.” —The Guardian

Sigmund Freud's concepts have become a part of our psychological vocabulary: unconscious thoughts and feelings, the meaning of dreams, the sensuality of childhood. But psychoanalytic thinking has undergone an enormous expansion and transformation since Freud's death in 1939. Clinicians and theorists have challenged the major pillars of Freud's foundational theory, adopting a more collaborative version of psychoanalysis. With Freud and Beyond, Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black embrace these changes and narrate the unfolding story of twentieth century psychoanalysis—from Harry Stack Sullivan to Jacques Lacan; D.W. Winnicott to Melanie Klein—introducing the full scope of contemporary psychoanalytic thought to general readers for the first time. A classic in its field, Freud and Beyond also covers twenty first century advances in psychoanalysis, from challenges to traditional Freudian analysis to dynamic new approaches to Freud's key concepts.

Richly illustrated with case examples, this lively, jargon-free primer makes modern psychoanalytic thought accessible to all.