The collection features influential writings by Christopher Bollas, showcasing his significant contributions to psychoanalysis and the understanding of the human psyche. It explores themes such as the nature of the self, the interplay between language and emotion, and the therapeutic process. Bollas's insights challenge conventional perspectives, making this reader an essential resource for those interested in psychoanalytic theory and practice.
In this exploration of a radical approach to the psychoanalytical treatment of people on the verge of mental breakdown, Christopher Bollas offers a new and courageous clinical paradigm. He suggests that the unconscious purpose of breakdown is to present the self to the other for transformative understanding; to have its core distress met and understood directly. If caught in time, a breakdown can become a breakthrough. It is an event imbued with the most profound personal significance, but it requires deep understanding if its meaning is to be released to its transformative potential. Bollas believes that hospitalization, intensive medication and CBT/DBT all negate this opportunity, and he proposes that many of these patients should instead be offered extended, intensive psychoanalysis. This book will be of interest to clinicians who find that, with patients on the verge of breakdown, conventional psychoanalytical work is insufficient to meet the emerging crisis. However, Bollas’s challenging proposal will provoke many questions and in the final section of the book some of these are raised by Sacha Bollas and presented in a question-and-answer form.
The book presents a unique theory of hysteria, integrating its classic characteristics such as repressed sexual thoughts, emotional detachment from symptoms, and a profound identification with others. By exploring these elements, the author sheds new light on the complexities of the hysteric experience, offering fresh insights into its psychological underpinnings.
In Being a Character, Christopher Bollas argued that Freud's vision of the dream process is a model for all unconscious mental experience. In Cracking Up he extends his exploration of the inner world of human experience and suggests that the rhythm of that experience is vital to individual creativity. It allows us to develop what the author calls a 'separate sense', which we use to assess the meanings of our own experiences and also to attune ourselves sympathetically to the lives of other people. In this original and thought-provoking book, Bollas examines how people educate one another in the idioms of their unconscious lives and considers the nature and consequences of the traumas that inhibit the freedom to do this. He studies what we mean by the past - is it unchangeable or can history be a creative, open understanding of experience? We come to know who we are by giving form and meaning to our past - yet what do we mean by the self? Bollas' answer suggests yet more ways in which the 'separate sense' expresses each person's unique qualities.
Bollas integrates the unique contribution of the British School of Object Relations with the fine texture of problems that have arisen in the author's own clinical practice. It makes the best insights of the object relations approach clearly available.
Argues for a return to our understanding of how Freudian psychoanalysis works
unconscious to unconscious. In this book, the author also argues, realizes a
phylogenetic preconception that has existed for tens of thousands of years.
Builds on Freud's account of dream formation, combining it with perceptive
clinical, theoretical and cultural insights to show how the psychoanalytical
method can provide a rich understanding of what has traditionally been
regarded as 'the outside world'. This title rejects the simplistic notion that
mental life is unconsciously determined.
It is important to point out that these essays are about character types; it is not to suggest that all borderlines, narcissists or manic depressives are the same. Everyone is an individual and are who they are for many different reasons. What they have in common is a typical relation between their subjectivity and the world they inhabit. In other words, Christopher Bollas has identified the axioms that these individuals share. Following a discussion of the features of each type, the axioms are delivered in the characters own voice. By placing ourselves within their own logic, we can begin to identify and empathize with them. At the root of all character disorders there is mental pain and each disorder is an intelligent attempt to solve an existential problem. If the clinician can grasp their specific intelligence and help the analysand to understand this, then a natural process of healing can begin. Three Characters is a masterclass based on decades of lectures presented to psychoanalysts, analytical psychologists and psychotherapists and a must-read for all psychoanalytic enthusiasts.
Exploring the complexities of modern existence, this book delves into themes of meaning, identity, and the pervasive sense of bewilderment in contemporary life. It examines how individuals navigate emotional landscapes marked by melancholy, questioning societal norms and personal beliefs. Through a blend of philosophical insights and personal reflections, it invites readers to confront the challenges of finding purpose in an increasingly chaotic world, ultimately seeking to illuminate paths toward understanding and resilience.
The notebooks of Christopher Bollas offer an intimate glimpse into his thoughts over fifty years, capturing the intricate challenges faced by a psychoanalyst. Originally private, these writings reveal the evolution of his clinical practice and theoretical insights, showcasing a rich tapestry of ideas and reflections. Presented in two volumes, they provide a profound exploration of the psychoanalytic experience and Bollas' intellectual journey.
