Integration and Self Healing: Affect, Trauma, Alexithymia

By Henry Krystal

Book Overview

First published in 1993. Aexithymia is the single most common cause of poor outcome or outright failure of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The reason that this problem has escaped recognition for so long is part of the mystique and paradox of emotions. Affects are familiar to everyone. They are part of our experiences, so ordinary and common that they are equated with being human. The first part of this book is devoted to those mysterious and much studied experiences: emotions. The second part of the book concerns psychic trauma. Certain aspects of these two subjects have to be established in order to give us a broad enough view to approach the third subject: alexithymia.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881631809
• ISBN13: 9780881631807
• Release Date: December 1988
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Exceptional Book

Krystal's theoretical insights and clinical implications -- especially for somatic, substance abusing and more primitive patients -- have been invaluable. He is an intergrative and original thinker.

Extraordinarily compassionate understanding of trauma

Krystal conveys an exceptionally deep understanding of the constricting effect of trauma on the human mind, and he shows how healing entails opening one's mind to the full range of experience. He presents the finest model of caring and compassion for the self I've seen.