The Non-Linear Mind: Psychoanalysis of Complexity in Psychic Life

by James Rose (Editor), Graham Shulman (Editor)

Overview

This book is concerned with whether we can develop our understanding of the mind through the application of new approaches to the study of complex systems. It is divided into two sections. The first is concerned with the application of non-linear systems theory to the psychoanalytic study of the mind. The second is concerned with the technical application of the ideas of chaos theory to the understanding of therapeutic action and psychic change. It concludes with a consideration of the research and clinical implications of considering the mind as a non-linear system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782204336
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/15/2016
Series:	The Psychoanalytic Ideas Series
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

James Rose is a Fellow of the Institute of Psychoanalysis and a member of the British Psychoanalytic Society. Since 1987, he has worked as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist at the Brandon Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy for Young People, which is situated in Kentish Town, London.

Table of Contents

Introduction — The Application of Non-Linear Dynamical Systems Theory to the Psychoanalytical Study of the Mind — The strange attractor — Experimental psychology and psychoanalysis: what we can learn from a century of misunderstanding — Chaos theory and psychoanalysis: the fluidic nature of the mind — Chaotic possibilities: toward a new model of development — Clinical and Technical Implications of the Non-Linear Model — Internal objects considered as strange attractors in the non-linear dynamical system of the mind — The number of sessions per week as an aspect of the psychoanalytical setting: theoretical and technical implications — Some research implications — Some clinical implications — Some conclusions

Editorial Reviews

"This is a challenging and important book, offering new clinical and theoretical insights into the relationship between psychoanalysis and the natural sciences, but moving us far beyond the sometimes reductionist tendencies of neuroscientific models. Most clinicians have an intuitive grasp of complexity and chaos theory, but this book provides us with the resources to ground our experience in detailed conceptual models. Lucid and accessible, the work of these clinically sophisticated authors promises to open new pathways for research and practice."

Andrew Cooper