Nemirovsky Carlos - Winnicott and Kohut on Intersubjectivity and Complex Disorders

This is a fascinating book that shows the area of contemporary Psychoanalysis that has been devoted to the study of the suffering resulting from deficits and early trauma. In particular, the origin of Winnicott and Kohuts ideas is discussed, comparing them critically and revealing how primitive aspects are edited in the intersubjective analytical field. A useful book not only for the psychoanalyst but also for other professionals dealing with mental health.

Roosevelt Cassorla, Training Analyst of the Psychoanalytic Society of So Paulo, Brazil. Sigourney Award 2017. Author of The Psychoanalyst, the Theater of Dreams and the Clinic of Enactment (Routledge).

We must include Nemirovsky amongst the most necessary of thinkers today, ones who open up new paths for post-Freudian Psychoanalysis, following the stream established by Ferenczi. A century later, contemporary psychoanalists neither work with the same patients nor in the same way of working and listening as before. New paradigms have appeared and they oblige the analyst to create a dialogue between diverse theories. The dialogue proposed by Nemirovsky between Winnicott and Kohut concerning the basis of narcissism and the origins of our subjectivity results in creative and enriching thought which presents us with new ways in which to consider our complex clinical work.

Martina Burdet, IPA Full Member and Training Analyst at the Madrid Psychoanalytical Association (Spain) and Member of the SPP (Socit Psychanalytique de Paris). General Secretary of the European Psychoanalytical Federation (EPF).

This book is a fundamental contribution which reflects contemporary clinical practice. It is a lucid exercise of rereading classic authors in the light of the problems that we currently face in our everyday work.

The author constructs a dialogue between D. Winnicott and H. Kohut that provides us with a rich knowledge of the ideas of these two great pioneers of Psychoanalysis, and goes further as it opens up paths for new developments and thus constitutes an excellent example of how Psychoanalysis can grow looking to the future.

Virginia Ungar, MD, IPA President.

Given the complexity of scientific developments inside and outside the psychoanalytic field, traditional definitions of basic psychoanalytic notions are no longer sufficiently comprehensive. We need conceptualizations that encompass new clinical phenomena observed in present-day patients and that take into account contributions inside, outside, and on the boundaries of our practice.

This book discusses theoretical concepts which explain current clinical expressions that are as ineffable as they are commonplace. Our patients resort to these expressions when they feel distressed by their perception of themselves as unreal, empty, fragile, non-existent, non-desiring, doubtful about their identity, beset by feelings of futility and apathy, and emotionally numb. The book aims at contrasting the ideas of Winnicott and Kohut, which are connected with a clinical practice that sees each patient as unique and are moreover in direct contact with empirical facts, and applies them to the benefit of complex patients. These ideas facilitate the expansion of paths in both the theory and the practice of our profession.

Uniquely contrasting the works of two seminal thinkers with a Latin American perspective, Winnicott and Kohut on Intersubjectivity and Complex Disorders will be invaluable to clinicians and psychoanalysts.

Carlos Nemirovsky, MD, graduated from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1969. He is a full member of the Psychoanalytical Association of Buenos Aires and IPA, a training analyst and Professor, Master of Psychoanalysis with the Psychoanalysis Institute of Mental Health, member of IARPP, and President of the Psychoanalytical Association of Buenos Aires from January, 2019.

First published 2021

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

2021 Carlos Nemirovsky

The right of Carlos Nemirovsky to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him 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 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: Nemirovsky, Carlos, 1945- author.

Title: Winnicott and Kohut on intersubjectivity and complex disorders: new perspectives for psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and psychiatry / Carlos Nemirovsky.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2020012624 (print) | LCCN 2020012625 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367483623 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367483647 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003039501 (ebook)

Subjects: MESH: Winnicott, D. W. (Donald Woods), 18961971. | Kohut, Heinz. | Psychoanalytic Theory | Interpersonal Relations | Mental Disorderstherapy | Psychoanalytic Therapymethods

Classification: LCC RC454 (print) | LCC RC454 (ebook) | NLM WM 460.2 | DDC 616.89dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012624

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020012625

ISBN: 978-0-367-48362-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-48364-7 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-03950-1 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by codeMantra

To Mara Alejandra

Valentn Barenblit

Writing the prologue for a book certainly involves a transcendental action in which the most relevant aspects of personal, professional, and ethical commitments converge. On this occasion, the generosity of the author, who has honoured me by asking me to play this role, belies a fact that should be revealed to the readers: I am not a qualified expert in the work of Donald Woods Winnicott or Heinz Kohut, which Carlos Nemirovsky discusses with both excellence and theoretical and clinical rigour. However, I feel I can legitimately provide a brief introduction for several reasons, of which I will mention some. In my view, these justify my having the pleasure of endorsing this book with my thoughts and opinions.

First, I would like to point out the significance of an intellectual and emotional bond that has lasted several decades and defied time and distance. I was forced to go into exile almost 30 years ago and have lived in Barcelona ever since. Yet, as has been the case with my relationship with other colleagues and friends, my connection with Carlos Nemirovsky has endured both intellectually and emotionally. This relationship harks back to our work in, and professional and personal commitment to, the Psychopathology and Neurology Ward of the Aroz Alfaro Hospital, created and run by our renowned and unforgettable teacher Dr. Mauricio Goldenberg. I had the responsibility and the priceless honour of replacing Goldenberg in the 1970s, when he became director of the Italiano Hospitals Psychiatry Ward until his forced migration, first to Venezuela and then to the US.