Description
Book Synopsis'Perversion is taken to mean different things within psychoanalytic discourse. In this book the authors view perversions, not in terms of specific behaviours, but as a type of blueprint for object relations. While perversions may involve a quest for excitement through sex, drugs or gambling, for example, the focus here is on the underlying incapacity - or indeed at times refusal - to relate to the other as separate from the self and not as a narcissistic appendage. It is the anxieties aroused by intimacy and relatedness that drive the pursuit of ecstasy and excitement. Psychoanalytic thinking can help multidisciplinary teams to stand back and respond to the addictive state of mind in humane and containing ways that are not collusive. This book thus provides rich food for thought not only for the individual practitioner but also for those responsible for shaping services for addicted individuals.' - Alessandra Lemma, from the Preface.
Trade Review'"Ground-breaking" is a much over-used and abused cliche perhaps, yet it does seem the right term to describe this volume. The three editors are also significant contributors to an excellent collection of papers on some of the most recalcitrant and disturbing pathologies so often manifest in addictive states of mind. Much has been, and is being, written about the aetiology and treatment of addiction, but there is little from the coherent and enlightening perspective offered by this book. Here we have set out for the reader a comprehensive, scholarly and moving exploration of a wide spectrum of different addictive behaviours and of some of the settings in which they are clinically, that is psychotherapeutically addressed. The book also, unusually, includes work across the life-span, with chapters on infancy, young childhood and adolescence as well as adult addictive states.' - Margot Waddell, Series Editor
Table of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface -- Foreword -- Introduction -- Challenges in a substance misuse service -- Parental addiction and the impact on children -- Won't they just grow out of it? Binge drinking and the adolescent process -- A neglected field -- The deprivation of female drug addicts: a case for specialist treatment -- Flying a kite: psychopathy as a defence against psychosis—observations on dual (and triple) diagnosis -- Gambling: addicted to the game -- The nature of the addiction in "sex addiction" and paraphilias -- Anorexia nervosa: addiction or not an addiction? -- In search of a reliable container: staff supervision at a drug dependency unit
