For and Against Psychoanalysis

Ever since Freud's work was first published, the principles and therapeutic efficacy of psychoanalysis have been called into question by many who seek to refute the major claims of the psychoanalytic movement. But in spite of the arguments of those who doubt its standing as a science, the emphasis the clinical practice of psychoanalysis places on acquiring truthful knowledge of human functioning has led to its being regarded as a potent contributor to debates around gender, identity construction and racism. Psychoanalysis is also regarded as a key element of academic disciplines as diverse as gender studies, psychotherapy and literary criticism for the insight it provides into human subjectivity. In this book, Stephen Frosh explores questions of meaning and interpretation in psychoanalysis, the aims and effectiveness of psychanalytic therapy, and the application of psychonalytic theory to social concerns. He shows how the elements of politics, therapy, subjectivity and science which exist concurrently within psychoanalysis, but on different planes, provide us with an enormous number of things to say about its value and limitations.
In presenting arguments both for and against, the author enables us to appreciate more clearly what psychoanalysis has to offer, and what it does not. Essential reading for psychoanalysts, counsellors and psychotherapists, For and Against Psychoanalysis provides a first-class introduction to the ideas behind psychoanalysis and the place it occupies in the modern world.