Table Of ContentIntimacy
Intimacy: Clinical, Cultural, Digital and Developmental Perspectives applies
a contemporary, psychoanalytic lens to the many facets of intimacy between
people, from romantic and sexual relationships, to friendliness, as well as the
ways intimacy is mediated by new digital technologies.
Identifying commonalities and differences between a range of approaches,
including classical Freudian, attachment theory and interpersonal theory, the
book includes case studies that highlight how intimacy is framed in a variety of
relationships. It examines the line between privacy and intimacy, as well as how
intimacy changes at different stages of one’s lifespan.
From the friends we have to the pets we own, or the faith we follow, a cross-
cultural perspective ensures that intimacy is conceived of as a broad, essential
element underlying all human relationships. The intimacy between analyst and
analysand is also examined.
This far-reaching book will interest both practicing and training psychoanalysts
and psychotherapists, as well as those in related disciplines.
Gurmeet Kanwal, M.D., is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Weill
Medical College of Cornell University, and Supervising Psychoanalyst and
Teaching Faculty, William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis
& Psychology. He is co-editor (with Salman Akhtar) of Bereavement: Personal
Experiences and Clinical Applications (Karnac, 2017). He practices in New York
City.
Salman Akhtar, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and
Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.
He is the author/editor of over 90 books, including the most recent, Mind, Culture,
and Global Unrest (Routledge, 2018).
“I don’t believe that there exists another body of work that covers the broad sub-
ject of intimacy as thoroughly as this one. Intimacy, as well as privacy, is dis-
cussed, in particular, from a developmental framework and most uniquely, from
a multicultural and multi-gendered framework. Included in this unique and most
contemporary volume are pointed discussions of intimacy in the age of technol-
ogy, intimacy in the therapeutic relationship, intimacy with lovers, intimacy with
friends, intimacy with animals and intimacy with a supreme being. Any clinician
is bound to benefit enormously from exposure to this edited book.”
Irwin Hirsch, Ph.D., New York University Postdoctoral Program in
Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis; The William Alanson White
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology
“Who amongst us does not want to know more about the topic of intimacy? And,
this book provides all of us a great opportunity to do so. From Akhtar’s master-
ful introduction through Kanwal’s perspicacious chapter to Bohm’s concluding
commentary, the reader repeatedly encounters rich, sophisticated, and nuanced
discussion of various facets of intimacy. These include intimacy in love, friend-
ship, spirituality, man’s relationship with animals, and, most importantly, inti-
macy in the clinical situation. This book is a delight both for the intellect and the
emotions!”
Aisha Abbasi, M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst,
Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, Author of Rupture
of Serenity (2014)
Intimacy
Clinical, Cultural, Digital and
Developmental Perspectives
Gurmeet Kanwal and
Salman Akhtar
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 selection and editorial matter, Gurmeet Kanwal and
Salman Akhtar; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Gurmeet Kanwal and Salman Akhtar to be identified
as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for
their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
Chapter 1 is reprinted, with the author’s and the publisher’s
permission, from Silent Virtues: Patience, Curiosity, Privacy, Intimacy,
Humility, and Dignity, pp. 86–112. London: Routledge, 2019.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kanwal, Gurmeet (Psychologist), editor. |
Akhtar, Salman, 1946 July 31– editor.
Title: Intimacy / [edited by] Gurmeet Kanwal and Salman Akhtar.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018041127 (print) | LCCN 2018052711
(ebook) | ISBN 9780429023217 (Master eBook) |
ISBN 9780367085926 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367085940 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Intimacy (Psychology) | Interpersonal relations.
Classification: LCC BF575.I5 (ebook) | LCC BF575.I5 .I58 2019
(print) | DDC 158.2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018041127
ISBN: 978-0-367-08592-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-08594-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-02321-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To
Bari
G.S.K.
Muge
S.A.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
About the editors and contributors x
Introduction 1
Prologue 3
1 The concept of intimacy: an introductory overview 5
SALMAN AKHTAR
The spectrum of intimacy 31
2 Attachment and intimacy 33
APRIL FALLON AND RAMA RAO GOGINENI
3 Intimacy and its vicissitudes in adolescence 50
DAVID PAULEY
4 Friendship, friendliness and intimacy 66
GURMEET KANWAL
5 Intimacy and otherness in multicultural/interracial/interfaith
couples 80
BARI SMELSON-KANWAL
6 Forty shades of gray in intimacy for Iranians 96
SIAMAK MOVAHEDI
viii Contents
7 Privacy and intimacy as two mediators of relatedness 109
SUZANNE BENSER
8 Technology, intimacy and the simulation of intimacy 123
TODD ESSIG, DANIELLE MAGALDI AND LEORA TRUB
9 Psychoanalytic intimacy 140
CHRISTIE PLATT
Epilogue 155
10 The many shapes of intimacy 157
LORI C. BOHM
References 167
Index 191
Acknowledgments
Eight distinguished colleagues devoted much time and effort to writing original
works for inclusion in this book. They responded to our editorial suggestions with
the utmost grace and patience. Oliver Rathbone, Rod Tweedy and Cecily Blench
at Karnac Books shepherded this project through various stages of publication.
Kate Pearce provided excellent and patient editorial assistance. My (S.A.) assis-
tant, Jan Wright, prepared the manuscript of this book with her characteristic dili-
gence and good humor. To all the individuals mentioned here, our sincere thanks
indeed.
