The Making of Psychotherapists

Here, for the first time, is a book that submits the psychoanalytic training institute to deep anthropological scrutiny. It expertly uncovers the hidden institutional devices used to transform trainees into professionals. By attending closely to what trainees feel, do, and think as they struggle towards professional status, it exposes the often subtle but deeply penetrating effects psychoanalytic training has upon all who pass through it; effects that profoundly shape not only therapists (professionally and personally), but also the community itself. Davies' fascinating and original data is culled from his extensive fieldwork, his case-studies of clinical work, and his interviews with teachers, senior practitioners and trainees. This book is written to be accessible to all those who have an interest in the therapeutic profession from the professional (whether psychotherapist or anthropologist) to the trainee and general reader.

ISBN 1855756560   Pages 318 ISBN13 9781855756564 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Karnac Books   Weight (grammes) 454 Imprint Karnac Books   Published in London Format Paperback   Height (mm) 230 Publication date 01 Oct 2008   Width (mm) 147 DEWEY 616.8914   Spine width (mm) 23 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

		Introduction		1
1		The Rise and Fall of the Psychodynamic		25
2		The Therapeutic Encounter		54
3		Irony in the Therapeutic Encounter		84
4		The Seminar Encounter: The Transmission of Psychodynamic Knowledge		102
5		Deflecting Doubt, Maintaining Certainty		124
6		Clinical Supervision		146
7		Illness Aetiologies and the Susceptibilities of Training		173
8		The Transformed Practitioner		202
9		The Conclusion		250
Appendix 1		The Distinction Between Analytic and Interpersonal or 'Object Relations' Therapy		257
Appendix 2		The Genealogical Structure		260
Appendix 3		Curricula of Training Institutes in the BCP		263
		Notes		266
		Bibliography		290
		Index		307

'A remarkable anthropological study via participant observation of the world of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Davies has produced a tour de force of critical yet compassionate engagement covering all aspects of our institutional life, including the institution of the clinic itself. I found myself fascinated and informed on almost every page - and I thought I was a pretty seasoned and well-informed observer of and actor in the scene. Sometimes I felt mortified at how I have let all kinds of assumpions develop, though Davies does not take an Olympian, hyper-academic stance of 'a plague on all your houses' (he could be forgiven if he had). But he does force us to consider our professional histories and practices much more seriously than is usually the case, with all the splits, ructions, character assassinations and conformist tyrannies performed in the name of high standards and good practice. Anyone involved with training or other work of any kind in psychoanalytic organisations who cares about the degree of self-knowledge and social awareness they bring to their jobs should read this work.' - Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology, University of Essex

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