What Is Psychoanalysis?: 100 Years after Freud's 'Secret Committee'

241 Pages·2012·4.44 MB·English

by  Barratt

What is Psychoanalysis?
In a radically powerful interpretation of the human condition, this book
redefines the discipline of psychoanalysis by examining its fundamental
assumptions about the unconscious mind, the nature of personal history, our
sexualities, and the significance of the “Oedipus Complex.” With striking
originality, Barratt explains the psychoanalytic way of exploring our inner
realities, and criticizes many of the schools of “psychoanalytic psychotherapy”
that emerged and prospered during the 20th Century.
In 1912, Sigmund Freud formed a “Secret Committee,” charged with the
task of protecting and advancing his discoveries. In this book, Barratt argues
both that this was a major mistake, making the discipline more like a
religious organization than a science, and that this continues to infuse
psychoanalytic institutes today. What is Psychoanalysis? takes each of the four
“fundamental concepts” that Freud himself said were the cornerstones of his
science of healing, and offers a fresh and detailed re-examination of their
contemporary importance.
Barratt’s analysis demonstrates how the profound work, as well as the play-
fulness, of psychoanalysis, provides us with a critique of the ideologies that
support oppression and exploitation on the social level. It will be of interest
to advanced students of clinical psychology or philosophy, as well as psycho-
analysts and psychotherapists.
Barnaby B. Barratt, formerly Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and
Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University in Detroit, he now prac-
tices psychoanalysis in Johannesburg, South Africa, and holds professorial
appointments at the University of Witwatersrand and at the University of
Cape Town.

What is Psychoanalysis?
100 Years after Freud’s ‘Secret
Committee’
Barnaby B. Barratt
First published 2013
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Barnaby B. Barratt
The right of Barnaby B. Barratt to be identified as authors of this work
has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized 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
Barratt, Barnaby B., 1950–
What is psychoanalysis? : 100 years after Freud’s ‘secret committee’ /
Barnaby B. Barratt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Psychoanalysis. 2. Freud, Sigmund, 1856–1939. I. Title.
BF173.B206 2012
150.19´5—dc23
2012011078
ISBN: 978-0-415-69273-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-69274-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-09505-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond
by Book Now Ltd, London
May all beings be happy and free;
may these writings contribute to the happiness
and freedom of all beings.

Contents
About the author ix
Preface xi
1 Opening the question 1
2 Consciousness and the dynamics of repression 11
3 Personal history and repetition-compulsivity 39
4 Sensual embodiment and the erotics of experience 65
5 Oedipal complexities 88
6 What are healing practices? 115
7 Notes on psychoanalytic treatment 131
8 Ideology-critique and spiritual–existential praxis 165
References 181
Index 213

About the author
Barnaby B. Barratt, PhD, DHS, practices psychoanalysis in Johannesburg,
where he is a Training Analyst with the South Africa Psychoanalytic Association,
and a member of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He was previ-
ously a Training Analyst with the American Psychoanalytic Association and
Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Neurosciences at
Wayne State University in Detroit. Currently, he is Senior Research Fellow at
the University of Cape Town and Visiting Professor at the University of
Witwatersrand. He may be contacted at [email protected].
Other books by Barnaby B. Barratt
Psychic Reality and Psychoanalytic Knowing
(Analytic Press, 1984)
Psychoanalysis and the Postmodern Impulse: Knowing and Being since Freud’s Psychology
(Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993)
The Way of the BodyPrayerPath: Erotic Freedom and Spiritual Enlightenment
(Xlibris/Random House, 2004)
Sexual Health and Erotic Freedom
(Xlibris/Random House, 2005)
Ten Keys to Successful Sexual Partnering
(Xlibris/Random House, 2005)
What is Tantric Practice?
(Xlibris/Random House, 2006)
Liberating Eros
(Xlibris/Random House, 2009)
The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)