Psychoanalysis, Law, and Society explores the connections between psychoanalysis and law, arguing that these are required not only for conceptual or theoretical needs in both fields, but also for the vast range of practical implications and possibilities their association enables.

The book is divided into four parts, each addressing a unique example of the interaction of legal and psychoanalytic work. It begins with matters that are as global as they are local: the challenge of caring for and aiding migrants, refugees, families, and individuals; the question of planetary survival; of the mistreatment and violence in military and secular conflicts; and the projects and processes of international governance. The middle two parts focus on the very wide-ranging problems of social violence as these target women and people of diversity. Then, on the penetration of law into the most intimate aspects of family life: adoption, divorce, child custody, and complex parental arrangements. In the last part, the contributions use this double vision (legal and psychoanalytic) perspective to explore basic processes in social and legal life.

Psychoanalysis, Law, and Society will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic psychotherapists, as well as legal scholars.

About the Author

Plinio Montagna, MD, is a psychoanalyst and past president of the Brazilian Society of Psychoanalysis of Sao Paulo and the Brazilian Federation of Psychoanalysis. He is the chair of the Committee of Psychoanalysis and Law for the International Psychoanalytical Association and former member of its Board of Representatives. He also works as a psychiatric and psychoanalytic expert in family courts in Sao Paulo.

Adrienne Harris, PhD, is a faculty member and supervisor for the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. She is an associate editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues and of Studies in Gender and Sexuality, and she is on the editorial boards of Psychoanalytic Inquiry and American Imago. She publishes in the areas of gender and development.

Reviews

"The world is awash in agony endured by individuals and society alike as brutalizing power breaks free from the restraints of law, the civilizing recognition of our essential commonality. The authors of this gripping volume turn psychoanalytic inquiry to the study of specific outbreaks of heartbreaking violence against basic rights that cruelly torture and endanger life itself. There may be no more vital contribution psychoanalysis now can make than such as those in this selection of serious thinking about the suffering and sorrow threatening survival of person and group, indeed of humanity. This profoundly compelling contribution is a model for continued work if civilization is to last."-Warren S. Poland, author, Intimacy and Separateness in Psychoanalysis

"The technical cooperation between the two areas of Psychoanalysis and Law is already much more advanced in practice all over the world than it is commonly studied theoretically and known in general. This seminal book opens a historical perspective on the official poliphonic recognition of the mutual implication and cooperative interaction of Psychoanalysis and Law. This has impressive consequences regarding social, political and institutional life, and is dealt at the highest scientific level, under the aegis of the International Psychoanalytical Association."-Stefano Bolognini, Past-President, International Psychoanalytical Association

"This remarkable work represents a milestone not only in the connection between psychoanalysis and law, but it also refers to current crucial issues, such as the work developed by the IPA in the Community Committees and the inspiring insertion of psychoanalysts in this area. Featuring a theoretical rigor and a completely refreshed view, the authors contribute with an outstanding critical examination of these subjects, providing a fruitful and indispensable reading for all those who seek to deepen their knowledge in the Psychoanalysis and Law field."-Virginia Ungar, President and Sergio Nick, Vice President, International Psychoanalytical Association

"The world is awash in agony endured by individuals and society alike as brutalizing power breaks free from the restraints of law, the civilizing recognition of our essential commonality. The authors of this gripping volume turn psychoanalytic inquiry to the study of specific outbreaks of heartbreaking violence against basic rights that cruelly torture and endanger life itself. There may be no more vital contribution psychoanalysis now can make than such as those in this selection of serious thinking about the suffering and sorrow threatening survival of person and group, indeed of humanity. This profoundly compelling contribution is a model for continued work if civilization is to last."-Warren S. Poland, author, Intimacy and Separateness in Psychoanalysis

"The technical cooperation between the two areas of Psychoanalysis and Law is already much more advanced in practice all over the world than it is commonly studied theoretically and known in general. This seminal book opens a historical perspective on the official poliphonic recognition of the mutual implication and cooperative interaction of Psychoanalysis and Law. This has impressive consequences regarding social, political and institutional life, and is dealt at the highest scientific level, under the aegis of the International Psychoanalytical Association."-Stefano Bolognini, Past-President, International Psychoanalytical Association

"This remarkable work represents a milestone not only in the connection between psychoanalysis and law, but it also refers to current crucial issues, such as the work developed by the IPA in the Community Committees and the inspiring insertion of psychoanalysts in this area. Featuring a theoretical rigor and a completely refreshed view, the authors contribute with an outstanding critical examination of these subjects, providing a fruitful and indispensable reading for all those who seek to deepen their knowledge in the Psychoanalysis and Law field."-Virginia Ungar, President and Sergio Nick, Vice President, International Psychoanalytical Association

Book Information
ISBN 9780367194505
Author Plinio Montagna
Format Paperback
Page Count 322
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 518g