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AUTUMN PROGRAMME 2020 New Books in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
Innovative conferences & seminars for psychotherapists, psychologists & counsellors w w w. c o n fe ro n l i n e. o rg
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WELCOME I’m delighted to welcome you to our first collection of books from Confer: eight new titles exploring a broad range of topics from an equally wide span of perspectives and approaches. As part of Confer, an organization whose programme of events and seminars has featured some of the most distinguished and experienced speakers over the past twenty years, our aim is to publish titles that will deepen the understanding of psychological, relational and emotional processes and to explore concepts that engage with the complexities of being human in this extraordinary era. In the following pages you will discover books on ecopsychotherapy, body psychotherapy and forensic psychotherapy. Our authors speak to the question of what ‘normal’ actually is and investigate narcissism, the changing landscape of sexuality and how modern neuroscience can give us new insights into psychotherapy. Whatever your interest, we hope you’ll find something to both pique your curiosity and support and enrich your practice. If you have a publishing idea please contact: christinawipfperry@confer.uk.com. I welcome proposals from the full range of schools of thought, as well as those from emerging and marginal voices. Happy reading!
Christina Wipf Perry Publishing Director Confer Books
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What is Normal? Pychotherapists Explore the Question Edited by Jane Ryan and Roz Carroll Can ‘‘being normal’’ ever be observed and tested? Who defines the norm of mental health? Is it constrained by a social concept of normal? And how do we ever reach an understanding of ‘‘not normal’’? An outstanding collection of therapists consider how their profession is engaging with these questions. What this book reveals so clearly is that, when probed, the notion of normality is fragile and shifting. It is not clear who decides what being normal means in any historical moment, or who is entitled to say. Nonetheless, concerns with conforming, fitting in, and being accepted are deeply pervasive. For most, being normal is a goal, and deviation from accepted norms feels like failure. Yet many people do not really feel normal. When sexuality, gender, health, ethnic group or any other common variation on the dominant theme is at play someone can feel out of step with this elusive standard. Others depend on being different to be creative, radical and discerning. Readers may conclude that it is our very uniqueness as individuals that makes us usual, and that we rely on our edge dwellers for cultural growth.
November 2020 - Paperback £19.99 / $25.95 9781913494209 196 pages, 156mm x 234mm
Contributors: Meg-John Barker, Doris Brothers, Roz Carroll, Chris Clulow, Tania Glyde, Jane Haberlin, Brett Kahr, Isha Mckenzie-Mavinga, Phil Mollon, Dany Nobus, Chris Oakley, Susie Orbach, Andrew Samuels, Ann Shearer, Stephen Seligman, Stephen Setterberg, Valerie Sinason, Foluke Taylor, Lennox Thomas and Felicity de Zulueta Jane Ryan trained as a Psychotherapist in the 1990s. Having worked in private practice, she set up Confer in order to bridge the gaps between schools of thought and professional communities in the field, and to provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue.
Roz Carroll is a relational body psychotherapist and supervisor. She teaches on the MA in Integrative Psychotherapy at The Minster Centre and has been a regular speaker for Confer for twenty years. She is committed to interdisciplinary dialogue. 3
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The Truth about Trauma and Dissociation Everything You Didn’t Want to Know and Were Afraid to Ask Valerie Sinason An accessible and sensitive guide to the key concepts involved when working with people who have experienced trauma and dissociation. Covering all degrees of trauma – from complex, childhood attachment ruptures, sexual abuse, torture, war and, even the coronavirus pandemic – the author helps us to learn what is needed about some of the worst possible experiences, without a loss of feelings.
November 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494087 168 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents Preface 1. The Coronavirus and other Plagues 2. Overview 3. What is Trauma? 4. A Bunch of Fives 5. Definitions 6. Dissociative Identity Disorder 7. War and Atrocity 8. A Cornucopia of Concepts 9: An Ending that Cannot Conclude
“This amazing little book helps each of us to speak and understand the unspeakable. Are we brave enough to know the truth in this dangerous but lifegiving journey? The book warns and encourages us that knowing can retraumatise at each life stage but also make us strong. Enjoy the clarity and beauty of Valerie’s whistle-stop tour of trauma and dissociation.” Baroness Hollins, Emeritus Professor, University of London; Emeritus President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
“Valerie Sinason ventures into troubled emotional spaces to hear what we don’t know and, often, don’t wish to know. In plain language she has enabled us to see forms of cruelty and the psychic consequences which lead to the extreme splitting of psyches into dissociated and multiple self-states … A book of interest to clinicians and a much wider audience.” Dr. Susie Orbach Psychoanalyst and founder of The Women’s Therapy Centre, London, and The Women’s Therapy Centre Institute, New York, and author of Fat is a Feminist Issue, The Impossibility of Sex, and Bodies.
Valerie Sinason is a poet, writer, child psychotherapist, and adult psychoanalyst. She is the founder of the Clinic for Dissociative Studies in London and has worked extensively with severely traumatised individuals suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Previously, Dr Sinason worked as a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, the Portman Clinic, the Anna Freud Centre, and St. George’s Hospital Medical School in the University of London. 4
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Dangerous Lunatics Trauma, Criminality, and Forensic Psychotherapy Professor Brett Kahr Why do human beings commit grotesque acts of violence such as paedophilia and murder? How should we treat the perpetrators of these horrific atrocities? In this gripping book, Professor Brett Kahr examines the nature of criminality throughout history, exploring the ways in which we have progressed from the ancient methods of torture and the execution of offenders to a more humane and psychologically sophisticated approach. Richly steeped in compelling clinical case reports, long-forgotten archival material, and a through review of cutting-edge psychological research, Dangerous Lunatics offers a unique insight into the nature of the criminal mind and its potential cure. “Only Brett Kahr could produce such a masterpiece as Dangerous Lunatics. Written in a stunning literary style, Kahr’s book combines his unique expertise as a clinician and as an historian to tell this vital tale about how we have treated criminals throughout the ages and how we might do much, much better in the future!” Professor Estela V. Welldon Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, Portman Clinic, London
“What a magnificent book! A carefully researched ‘tour de force’, encompassing a history of criminality and madness through exquisitely described stories. It offers hope that one day we might actually rehumanise the dehumanised, making the world a safer place for all.” Dr Carine Minne Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy, Portman Clinic and Broadmoor Hospital
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494063 208 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents Introduction: The man who shot his mother and father in the face 1. Torture and Execution 2. The Medicalisation of Insanity 3. The Freudian Challenge 4. The Growth of Forensic Psychotherapy 5. Paedophilia 6. Murder Conclusion: Blue-sky thinking: the future of forensic mental health
Brett Kahr is Senior Fellow at the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology in London and Visiting Professor of Psychoanalysis and Mental Health in the Regent’s School of Psychotherapy and Psychology at Regent’s University London. He serves as Consultant Psychotherapist at the Balint Consultancy and as a Trustee of the Freud Museum London and the UKCP. 5
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The Brain has a Mind of its Own Attachment, Neurobiology and the New Science of Psychotherapy Jeremy Holmes
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494025 208 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents Introduction 1. The free energy principle 2. Psychoanalytic resonances 3. Relational neuroscience 4. Free energy and psychopathology 5. Uncoupling top-down/ bottom-up automaticity 6. FEP and attachment 7. Therapeutic conversations
Psychotherapy is a practice in search of a theory. Recent advances in relational neuroscience and attachment research now offer convincing avenues for understanding how the ‘talking cure’ helps clients recover. Drawing on Karl Friston’s Free Energy Principle and contemporary attachment theory this book shows how psychotherapy works. This pioneering text provides a deep theoretical explanation for how psychotherapy helps sufferers overcome trauma, redress relationship difficulties and ameliorate depression. Neuroscience validates the psychoanalytic principles of establishing a trusting therapeutic secure base; using ambiguity to bring preformed assumptions into view for revision; dream analysis, free association and playfulness in extending clients’ repertoire of narratives for meeting life’s vicissitudes; and re-starting the capacity to learn from experience. Holmes demonstrates how psychotherapy works at a neuroscientific level, making complex ideas vivid and comprehensible for a wide readership. “This book is a visionary tour de force. It will serve as a guide to every clinician’s thinking. It takes a significant step towards realizing Freud’s ambition of establishing a viable neuroscientific model for psychotherapy. It is one of the most valuable contributions to the field this Century.” Professor Peter Fonagy UCL
8. Practical implications for psychotherapists
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The New Sexual Landscape and Contemporary Psychoanalysis Danielle Knafo and Rocco Lo Bosco The sexual landscape has changed dramatically in the past few decades, with the meaning of gender and sexuality now being parsed within the realms of gender fluidity and nonheteronormative sexuality, BDSM and polyamory. The sea change in sexual attitudes has also made room for the mainstreaming of internet pornography and the use of virtual reality for sexual pleasure. The New Sexual Landscape and Contemporary Psychoanalysis surveys modern sex culture and suggests ways psychoanalysis can update its theories and practice to meet the novel needs of today’s generations. “This splendid book will deliver new ideas to clinicians and academics and is a gift to all of us who want to think about sexuality more deeply - and less anxiously. It is not only an updated erotic encyclopedia but is also a tender exploration of the psychic work that sexual play accomplishes. Readers should expect to be shocked, perhaps even thrilled − but also unexpectedly touched and moved.” Virginia Goldner Ph.D., Founding Editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality
“A truly outstanding contribution to psychoanalytic thinking ... a wake-up call to all practitioners... We clinicians must adjust to a sea change in how gender and sexuality are evolving ... I highly recommend [this book] to anyone who is interested in the future of psychotherapy in an era dominated by technology.”
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494186 208 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents Introduction: on the back of the tiger 1. Gender bending 2. Novus sexualis 3. Pornucopia 4. Techno sex Epilogue
Glen O. Gabbard MD, Clinical Professor Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine
Epilogue Jeremy Holmes MD was for 35 years a consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Psychotherapist at University College London and North Devon and chaired the psychotherapy faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists from 1998 to 2002. He co-founded the psychoanalytic psychotherapy programme at the University of Exeter, where he is Visiting Professor. 6
Danielle Knafo, Ph.D, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst and a professor at Long Island University and New York University. Her book ‘The Age of Perversion’ won the 2018 American Board of Professional Psychology Book Award.
Rocco Lo Bosco is a teacher and author of fiction and non-fiction.
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Pathologies of the Self
Towards an Ecopsychotherapy
Exploring Narcissistic and Borderline States of Mind
Mary-Jayne Rust
Phil Mollon
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494001 170 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents 1. Narcissism, delusion, and the development of the structural self 2. The realm of the imaginary 3. The imaginary self 4. Narcissism and sexual trauma 5. The roots and structure of narcissistic disturbance
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Pathologies of the Self draws on almost 45 years of clinical practice to explore the nature and structure of human identity. Collectively, we are trapped in images of self, whether constructed by us, or imposed by others. These illusions are inextricably bound to our sense of who we are, and sometimes defended so fiercely that it leads to narcissistic disturbances and borderline states of mind. In this fascinating book, Phil Mollon explores narcissistic phenomena in both the clinic and everday life, demonstrating the illusory nature of the self, and showing how beneath our defences, we are all ‘borderline’. “One of the most original thinkers in the mental health profession, Dr. Phil Mollon has written a rich and readable portrait of the complexities of narcissistic and borderline states of mind. Drawing upon a generous range of psychological theories and clinical data, Mollon has provided us with a veritable master class, illuminating these deeply troubling - indeed malignant - features of the human personality.” Professor Brett Kahr Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London
6. Borderline states
Towards an Ecopsychotherapy offers diverse stories, from the therapy room to therapy in the forest, about the healing process of reconnection with the more-than-human world as well as with our wild animal selves. It provides an insight into ecopsychotherapy in practice and outlines its history, key themes, ideas, and controversies. This book is for anyone in the caring professions who seeks to practice therapy with the earth in mind, and for those struggling with eco-anxiety or eco-grief who wish to deepen their relationship with the earth and find hope in turbulent times. “If psychotherapy is to remain relevant, it must change and recognize that we exist as part of, not apart from, Nature. I trust Mary-Jayne Rust more than anyone else to guide us there.” Jerome Bernstein, Jungian Analyst, author of Living in the Borderland
“In her characteristic style, Mary-Jayne presents ecopsychotherapy in an incisive way, with her richness of experience bringing the subject to life. This thought-provoking book ... is an invaluable introduction to ecopsychotherapy and is also sure to deepen the work of more seasoned practitioners.” Emma Palmer, Body psychotherapist and author of Other Than Mother
“Mary-Jayne Rust has written an important work which broadens the field of psychotherapy to include our inherent connectedness to the more-than-human world. Given the current state of global environmental destruction, the wisdom in this book is needed now more than ever.” Jeffrey T Kiehl, Jungian analyst, author of Facing Climate Change
Phil Mollon is a psychoanalyst of the BPS Institute of Psychoanalysis. For 37 years he worked full time in the NHS. The limitations of conventional listening and talking therapy led to his ongoing search for a better way to help emotionally troubled people, exploring both EMDR and then energy psychotherapy, but always with a psychoanalytic lens. He has served as President of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychotherapy. 8
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494124 150 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents 1. Practising therapy outdoors 2. The diverse range of ecotherapy practices 3. Ecopsychology: context, frame, narrative 4. Psychological responses to ecological crisis 5. Exploring anthropocentrism 6. Ecopsychotherapy: weaving the threads 7. Ecopsychotherapy in the community
Mary-Jayne Rust wis an ecopsychologist, art therapist and Jungian analyst of many years’ experience. She grew up beside the sea and is wild about swimming. Now she lives and works overlooking ancient woodland in North London. 9
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Body Psychotherapy for the 21st Century Nick Totton Body psychotherapy currently attracts more interest than ever and is taking up an important role in the wider psychotherapy field, bringing awareness of embodiment into what has been a verbally oriented profession. It is now undergoing an internal transformation, engaging with neuroscience, phenomenology and cognitive studies, as well as the relational turn in psychotherapy.
July 2020 - Paperback £12.99 / $16.95 9781913494049 150 pages, 130mm x 185mm Contents Introduction 1. History 2. Body Psychotherapy 2.0 3. Concepts, Techniques, Research 4. Problems, Debates, Controversies, Futures
Body Psychotherapy for the 21st Century charts the history of this transformation and shows how four distinct versions of embodied practice have interacted to generate the current field. It makes the case for the value of body psychotherapy not only within the therapeutic world, but in the social sphere, where bodily difference – of gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality – is one of the major markers of oppression. “Nick Totton has been a pivotal figure in Body Psychotherapy... this book has the vitality of genuine re-appraisal and both frankness and rigour in its argument and questions. Definitely a thought-provoking and up to date read.” Roz Carroll, relational body psychotherapist, trainer and author
“An exquisite introduction to Body Psychotherapy, describing the influences on its development and the models of working so that people new to this approach will be able to get an image of it. It also offers an excellent and clear overview that can be used by professionals in their further development of theory and methods.” Lidy Evertsen, Chair of Think Tank of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy
Nick Totton has been a body psychotherapist for many years and has developed and taught on training courses in EmbodiedRelational Therapy and Wild Therapy. He is a past chair of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union. He was founding editor of Psychotherapy and Politics International. 10
COMING SOON... The Race Conversation Eugene Ellis 978-1-913494-26-1
Learning from the Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Approaches to Educational Psychology edited by Chris Arnold, Xavier Eloquin and Dale Bartle 978-1-913494-23-0
Resilience and Survival: Understanding and Healing Intergenerational Trauma Clara Mucci 978-1-913494-10-0
The Relational Revolution in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
Publishing Team: Dr Stephen Setterberg – Publisher Jane Ryan – Creative Director Dr Kathy Rooney – Consultant Executive Director Christina Wipf Perry – Publishing Director Professor Brett Kahr – Editor in Chief Liz Wilson – Publishing Manager Helen Whitehorn – Production Manager Vicky Capstick – Marketing Manager Trade Orders: Macmillan Distribution Telephone: +44 (0) 1256 302692 Orders@macmillan.co.uk Trade Orders USA: Ingram Publisher Services Telephone: 800/343-4499 ipsjacksonorders@ingramcontent.com Trade Sales Queries: David Wightman Global Book Sales Ltd Office: +44 (0) 1442 876334 Mobile: +44 (0) 7963 210830 david@globalbooksales.co.uk Translation Rights: John Scott & Co Telephone: +1 610 8271640 rights@johnscottco.us www.johnscottco.us Media enquiries and review copies: conferbooks@conferonline.org To discuss an idea for a book: christinawipfperry@confer.uk.com Stay in touch www.confer.uk.com/confer-books.html Follow us on twitter @conferbooks
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