Description:
This book articulates in new ways the essential features and recent extensions of Wachtel's powerfully integrative theory of cyclical psychodynamics.
Review Quotes:
"For nearly four decades Paul Wachtel has been one of the great integrative thinkers in the field of psychotherapy. In Cyclical Psychodynamics and the Contextual Self he has really outdone himself! Wachtel applies his cyclical psychodynamic perspective breathtakingly to a wide range of clinically central issues, including the importance of the larger social and cultural context. A must read!" - Robert D. Stolorow, Ph.D., author of World, Affectivity, Trauma: Heidegger and Post-Cartesian Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2011)
"Wachtel has once again produced a mighty work of astonishing brilliance and enduring value. Cyclical Psychodynamics and the Contextual Self is a rich and ambitious contemplation on the contemporary debates in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis by a pioneering clinician, a teacher and thinker with sparkling erudition, and a gifted writer. He examines our clinical beliefs and practices with a keen eye, an attuned ear, and a humane heart. His perceptive critiques on the world of society and culture are dispatches from the trenches. I love this book for its vividness, vitality, and vision." - Spyros D. Orfanos, Ph.D., ABPP, Clinic Director, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis "Paul Wachtel's cyclical psychodynamic theory may be the most important integrative theory of psychotherapy, bringing together a dizzying array of diverse literatures. Wachtel's range is astonishing, but he doesn't stop with mere comprehension. Even more interesting and significant than Wachtel's grasp is his capacity to bring all these theories into meaningful relation with one another. - Donnel B. Stern, Ph.D., William Alanson White Institute; NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy"Paul Wachtel is in the vanguard of a group of seminal thinkers who are shaping what might be seen as the entrance of psychoanalysis into its "relational era." This book makes it even clearer why Wachtel's integrative theory of cyclical psychodynamics is acknowledged within and beyond the field of psychoanalysis as such a unique and powerful force in the ongoing evolution of personality theory and psychotherapy.Wachtel has written both a theoretical tour de force and an immensely practical guide to clinical practice. "- Philip Bromberg, author The Shadow of the Tsunami: and the Growth of the Relational Mind (Routledge, 2011)
"How an integrationist approach relates to clinical work is masterfully demonstrated by Paul Wachtel in his brilliant new book. Wachtel writes in an engaging and accessible style and offers numerous clinical examples of the relational processes that influence the perpetuation of suboptimal patterns in our daily lives, as well as the vicious circles that characterize social phenomena, such as race relations. It is an outstanding contribution to the psychoanalytic field and one that I unreservedly recommend to novice and experienced clinicians alike." - Paul Renn, author, The Silent Past and the Invisible Present: Memory, Trauma, and Representation in Psychotherapy (Routledge, 2012)