Midwifery of the Soul: A Holistic Perspective on Psychoanalysis - Softcover

Arden, Margaret

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853433918 ISBN 13: 9781853433917

Publisher: Free Association Books, 1998

Synopsis

Early on in her career, Margaret Arden became fascinated by the problem of the gap between theory and practice. She came to realise that what she relied on in her work was not the theory she had been taught but her sense of the truth of what was going on in the consulting room. The process of psychoanalysis, the work of transference and counter transference, enables the analyst to meet one of the patient's basic needs by recognising the truth of who he or she is. For Margaret Arden, the transformation produced by insight in the consulting room is symbolically equivalent to the spiritual journey towards enlightenment, which is found in all the great religions, and involves similar processes. The loss of illusion and the giving up of attachments to a false reality, the inevitability of suffering and expiation, are all present in psychoanalysis. Perceiving the analyst as a midwife to the soul, or true self, she connects two themes: the indivisibility of truth, and the limitations of conceptualising psychoanalysis as a science. This book takes the reader on an intellectual journey. Each chapter represents a stage in the exploration of ideas which have influenced the author's view of psychoanalysis. The book is remarkable for the coherance of her thinking and the clarity of presentation of ideas which connect Jung with Freud, science with religion and the emerging science of consciousness with Goethe's scientific views. Anyone who has felt the need to explore the unrealised possibility of psychoanalytic theory will find this book rewarding.

Edition details

• Publisher: Free Association Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1853433918
• ISBN 13: 9781853433917
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 200