New Books In Psychoanalysis

In Chaos and Control: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Unfolding Creative Minds (Routledge, 2018), psychoanalyst and painter Desy Safan-Gerard explores creativity, its psychodynamics, prerequisites, and possible blocks, and then engages in an extensive examination of her own creative work and process. Major themes include the importance of both accident and destructiveness for the creative artist. Included are meditations on some of the common biases and pitfalls in the analysis and therapy of creative people, the role of the accidental in creative work, the nature of creative blocks, passion and its absence, as well as the problem of being able to exercise one's freedom. The author describes the special needs of creative patients, the common problems arising in therapy, its solutions, and, most importantly, the analyst's distinctive role when dealing with such patients. She also probes into the role of narcissism, neurosis, and psychosis on creative work. Her examination of her own work includes detailed intr