Inside Out and Outside In: Psychodynamic Clinical Theory and Practice in Contemporary Multicultural Contexts

By Patricia Hertz, Laura Melano Flanagan, Joan N. Berzoff

Book Overview

This book updates psychodynamic approaches by adding the essential biological and social perspectives that they often lack. We know that everyone is born with innate, highly individual inner characteristics, some of which are biologically based. These traits-a quickness to anger, an easy smile, a way of being calm or fidgety, a lively curiosity, a tendency to melancholy-are not easily visible, yet they play a crucial role in shaping the course of a person's life. We also know that each of us is born into an outer world with great specifications of its own: time, place, class, race, family, community, country, ethnic group, religion, political-economic climate. An African-American baby, a Korean-American baby, and a Swedish-American baby born on the same day in the same hospital will each be strengthened or assaulted by very different outside forces The authors of this book show how to find value in understanding people's pain and resilience in the context of their internal dynamic struggles, biological make-up, and social realities. They demonstrate how to use this knowledge to create a language of meaning for people's difficulties, and most important, a road to their healing. Inside Out and Outside In provides a guide for understanding and working with the complex inner and outer forces that make up people's lives. A Jason Aronson Book

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765703424
• ISBN13: 9780765703422
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.1" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

TEXT BOOK FOR POST GRAD. PSYCHOLOGY

This book is an excellent additional reader for post grad. psychology - particularly Therapeutic Styles. It has a strong leaning toward the psychodynamic schools of thinking, particularly: FREUD, SELF-PSYCHOLOGY,EGO & PSYCHOSOCIAL EGO DEVELOPMENT (Erikson) and has good critical views on Personality Disorders & depression. This was suggested as additional reading material - and I found it so beneficial - I bought the book!

An Absolute Must have for any Theory Enthusiast

I ordered this book after it was listed as a suggested text on the syllabus in a Psychodynamic Theory course I was taking. I must say that this was by far the best investment I made this semester. Berzoff makes psychodynamic theory user friendly and an enjoyable reading experience. This book is a great companion to any psychodynamic theory text book and offers a different lens in which to view theory through. An absolute must have for any psychodynamic theory enthusiast.

Great Book

A beautifully written book examining mental illness from a wide range of psychodynamic thoeries. It is a book I know I'll refer back to for years to come. The writers present the complexities of mental illness in a detailed and accessable manner. If you work in the mental health field as a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, or social worker this book is a must for your library.

A Truly Superlative Work

After a concise introduction, the authors describe in detail Drive Theory, Structural Theory, Ego Psychology, Psychosocial Ego Development, Object Relations Theory, The Theory of Self Psychology, and the Interpersonal School. This provides a solid foundation for the rest of the book, which moves to a chapter on Race and Culture, then Women. After this, a variety of psychopathologies are described in detail, with great attention to how ethnicity, culture, and gender play a role in the therapeutic process. The book contains a variety of clinical vignettes, is written intelligently, but without too much jargon, and is laid out concisely and clearly. I'm incredibly excited about this book, and know that I will be referring to it for a long time.