Playing and Vitality in Psychoanalysis

Building  on their long-lasting scientific partnership, Civitarese and Ferro  offer an array of thought-provoking writings bolstered by extensive  clinical material, attesting to their shared interpretation of  psychoanalysis not only as a treatment for psychic suffering but also as  inherently pleasurable and vitalizing. 

In chapters  that reflect inclinations, fantasies and obsessions that are both shared  and personal, and by engaging with topics various enough to include  dreams, ethics, emotions and aesthetics, the authors demonstrate how the  practice of psychoanalysis might no longer be an insidiously moralistic  or ideological exercise but rather a practice aimed at opening up and  liberating the mind. By providing detailed engagement with the work of  Bion and Ogden, as well as insights from their own substantial  expertise, the authors explore how the synonymous concepts of playing  and vitality can meaningfully inform and change clinical psychoanalytic  practice. 

With rich clinical material and a strong  foundation in established theory, this book will appeal to  psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic therapists and postgraduate students  hoping to make more room in the psychoanalytic lexicon for words like  pleasure, dreaming, creativity, hospitality and growth.