Blame It on Freud: A Guide to the Language of Psychology

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1880823020 ISBN 13: 9781880823026

Publisher: North Star Pubns, 1993

This text explains 131 psychological terms in easy-to-understand language. The topics in this text range from repression, ego, unconscious and alienation to guilt, narcissism, dysfunctional and masochism. They include entries on sexuality, sadism, sixth sense and the inner child. The book offers concise definitions for each term, along with brief discussions and true-to-life examples. The author uses over 800 popular movies to supply examples of the psychological concepts she defines. For example, in order to understand anxiety, she suggests watching "A Woman Under the Influence" or "Dead Calm".

From the Publisher:

No library (personal or public) should be without it. Do you have trouble understanding the psycho-babble that TV and radio therapists toss around? Do newspaper and magazine psychologists make references you've never heard before? Blame it on Freud contains everything you'll ever need to know about the use and understanding of psychological terms. Each page lists a single word or phrase, gives a clear definition and then an easily understood example of its meaning. Each page lists books or videos which illustrate the psychological term or principle being defined so that the reader may delve deeper if he/she is so inclined.

The author, a clinical psychologist, includes dozens of true-to-life "dialogues" which provide incisive examples of her definitions. This book is the answer for all those inquiring minds interested in the psychologically-oriented discussions now prevalent in our newly "aware" or "conscious" society. An understanding of psychology's relevant language will open the mind and, in this case, the world of the psyche.

Over 800 popular movies (all available on video) illustrating the terms are listed.

About the Author:

Frances K. Heussenstamm, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist. She received her doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1968 for research exploring the relationship between creative and alienation in adolescence. She has been a professor at both Columbia University, New York and at California State University, Los Angeles, and she has been a Senior Research Associate at UCLA's Center for the Study of Evaluation and at the Center for Policy Research in New York.