Freud at 150

The year 2006 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. To commemorate this event, the Austrian government sponsored a number of academic and cultural events. Among these was a historic gathering of representatives of the four major United States psychoanalytic organizations: the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, the American Psychoanalytic Asociation, Division 39 of the American Psychological Association, and the American Association for Psychoanalysis on Clinical LSocial Work/NMCOP. The essays presented by speakers from these organizations at the Embassy of Austria in Washington, D.C., survey the tremendous and wide-ranging influence that Freud had on history, contemporary society, culture and the arts. The essays form the centerpiece of this book. Complementing these wide-ranging essays are literary works and remarkable photographs of Freud, his family, colleagues and patients which were also presented during the commemorative celebrations of Freud in the United States and Austria.

Going back to a time "before Freud" is as unimaginable as going back to "before Newton." Freud gave us the keys to a new dimension in the rational and scientific understanding of human beings, including when they act in the most irrational way. These keys have evolved and have been refined but we keep using them. But so far no alternative has emerged to convincingly challenge the set of understandings which we were given by Freud: namely, that each individual has an inner world; that the (often repressed) unconscious affects our well-being and our relations with others; that our psyches are not whole but divided into parts which are usually in conflict with each other; that humans tend toward certain forms of motivated irrationality of which they have little or no awareness; and that many of these insights also apply to culture, society and politics. Freud's insights were relevant for the political circumstances surrounding their creation. They are still relevant today when once again we have to deal with fundamentalist threats., At a time in which psychoanalysis is viewed as in "crisis," following a long wave of revisionist Freud scholarship, and with the emergence of an entire discipline of "Freud Studies," it is significant that major psychoanalytic associations have joined together to reexamine Freud's legacy for the 21st century. This collection of studies by leading scholars and clinicians who represent diverse disciplines and traditions continues to raise questions and increase curiosity about Freud's ingenious creation, his legacy, and his relevance for our time., the book provides a refreshing variety of topics and styles that offer something to the curious newcomer who knows little of Freud's life or work and also to the more experienced student of psychology interested in the most recent interpretations and applications of his work....[a] thoughtful and balanced volume..., Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius is the impressively informed and informative work arising from contributions by many psychotherapy professionals who collectively offer a modern outlook....Freud at 150 is an inspiring, gripping, insightful, and educational look at one of the great minds of the post., The essays themselves make it clear that the impact of Freudian thought continues in our contemporary life.

Joseph P. Merlino, M.D., M.P.A., is Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry, one of the nation's four major psychoanalytic organizations. He is Director of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at Queens Hospital Center in New York and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Merlino is also Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College, where he is also Supervising and Training Analyst. Joseph P. Merlino, MD, MPA is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of The American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry, and a member of the prestigious Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry and the American College of Psychiatrists. He is Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Opportunity Charter School in Harlem, New York. Marilyn S. Jacobs, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Los Angeles, California. In addition to providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Dr. Jacobs specializes in medical psychoanalysis, the treatment of patients with pain disorders and consultations with physicians about medical care decision making. Dr. Jacobs is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst and Senior Member at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. She holds the appointment of Assistant Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Jacobs is an active member of Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association, where she has served as Secretary to the Board of Directors. Dr. Jacobs has a longstanding interest in political psychoanalysis and is the author of American Psychology in the Quest for Nuclear Peace (Greenwood, 1987). Judy Ann Kaplan, C.S.W., is Immediate Past-President, and a former National Study Group Member of the National Membership Committee on Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (NMCOP), and a Distinguished Practitio