Community Psychoanalysis

This book delves into the history, current status, and possible future directions of psychoanalysis in the community, outside the traditional consulting room.

The book begins by digging into the individualistic origins of psychoanalysis, and the clear definitions around what counts as psychoanalysis and what does not, even to this day. It also explores what has remained constant even as psychoanalysis has splintered into many schools of thought. Rather than rejecting individualistic thinking entirely, Altman investigates how a mix of individual and community focused work has been effective in various international settings, and the role that the arts can play in informing psychoanalytic practice. In pursuit of the new doors that open as psychoanalysis expands in relational directions, the book considers a range of clinical programs that have recently evolved in non-traditional contexts: in schools, in the streets, in religious and spiritual communities. With access to new and non-traditional modes of understanding and intervention, new possibilities become thinkable.

With international examples of successful community work and drawing on Altman’s extensive clinical experience, this is key reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists wanting to explore community practice.

Author Biography

Neil Altman is author of The Analyst in the Inner City: Race, Class, and Culture through a Psychoanalytic Lens, White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, and Psychoanalysis in an Age of Accelerating Cultural Change: Spiritual Globalization. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Harlem Family Services, New York, N.Y.