Before and After Violence

Developmental, Clinical, and Sociocultural Aspects

Edited by Salman Akhtar - Contributions by Shawn Blue; Ann G. Smolen; Vamik Volkan; Vincenzo Sanguineti; Aisha Abbasi; Suzanne Benser; Henri Parens; Kerry Kelly Novick and Salman Akhtar

From childhood onwards, humans use their environment’s responses to construct models or schemata to link feelings and impulses with actions and effects. If the environment during those formative years is unreliable, frustrating, or violating, the construction of those internal models can be disrupted and create a disjointed perception of the world, where violence is the only way to feel strong or good about oneself. Before and After Violence explores the complex network of experiences and relationships that contribute to both the origins and consequences of violence, starting in the early stages of life and compounding over time. The contributors to this collection examine the different settings in which violence takes place, look at the variables that propel its occurrence in local and global instances, and depict how each can be traced back to profound feelings of betrayal, helplessness, and anger that manifest in the physical discharges of aggression towards a single person or a whole group. Through a psychoanalytic lens, the contributors analyze and explain violence in its many forms, delve into its myriad of causes, as well as offer a variety of solutions that can be applied to various instances of violence whether it be physical or mental, self-directed or other-directed.

Lexington Books

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4985-6858-6 • Hardback • December 2017 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-6859-3 • eBook • December 2017 • $105.50 • (£82.00)

Series: Margaret S. Mahler

Subjects: Psychology / Emotions, Psychology / General, Psychology / Psychotherapy / General, Psychology / Infant Development

Before and After Violence

Developmental, Clinical, and Sociocultural Aspects

Hardback

eBook

Summary

From childhood onwards, humans use their environment’s responses to construct models or schemata to link feelings and impulses with actions and effects. If the environment during those formative years is unreliable, frustrating, or violating, the construction of those internal models can be disrupted and create a disjointed perception of the world, where violence is the only way to feel strong or good about oneself. Before and After Violence explores the complex network of experiences and relationships that contribute to both the origins and consequences of violence, starting in the early stages of life and compounding over time. The contributors to this collection examine the different settings in which violence takes place, look at the variables that propel its occurrence in local and global instances, and depict how each can be traced back to profound feelings of betrayal, helplessness, and anger that manifest in the physical discharges of aggression towards a single person or a whole group. Through a psychoanalytic lens, the contributors analyze and explain violence in its many forms, delve into its myriad of causes, as well as offer a variety of solutions that can be applied to various instances of violence whether it be physical or mental, self-directed or other-directed.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 166 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4985-6858-6 • Hardback • December 2017 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-6859-3 • eBook • December 2017 • $105.50 • (£82.00)

Series: Margaret S. Mahler

Subjects: Psychology / Emotions, Psychology / General, Psychology / Psychotherapy / General, Psychology / Infant Development

Author

Salman Akhtar, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Realm of Violence: An Overview by Salman Akhtar and Shawn Blue
Chapter 2: Learning the Difference between Hate and Violence by Kerry Kelly Novick
Chapter 3: Rage, Violence, and Terrorism by Ann G Smolen
Chapter 4: Gods Do Not Negotiate: A Psycho-Historical Look at Terrorism by Vamik Volkan,
Chapter 5: The Roles of Essentialism and Religion as Scaffolds to Terrorism: Some Psycho-historical Considerations byVincenzo Sanguineti
Chapter 6: Hateful Feelings in the Transference and Countertransference by Aisha Abbasi
Chapter 7: From Rage to Obliteration: Prejudice in the Analytic Dyad by Suzanne Benser
Chapter 8: Experience-generated Hostile Destructiveness Fuels Hate, Violence, and Terrorism: a Concluding Commentary by Henri Parens

Reviews

This book is urgently needed! We are a violent species living in a violent society with the highest rate of firearm-related deaths in the 'civilized' world, and we are becoming inured by the epidemic of mass murder from terrorist attacks. The contributors to this very readable and celebrated text are all experts in the field and offer us a very comprehensive study of this problem. From the microscopic/ individual developmental to the macroscopic/ societal perspective, this vital contribution is a must-read for all clinicians and students of the human condition.
— Ira Brenner, MD, Jefferson Medical College; author of Dark Matters- Exploring the Realm of Psychic Devastation