Analyst of the Imagination: The Life and Work of Charles Rycroft - Softcover

Pearson, Jenny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1855759047 ISBN 13: 9781855759046

Publisher: Routledge, 2004

Synopsis

Charles Rycroft's lucid jargon-free approach to psychoanalysis inspired a whole generation. Taking inspiration from many fields outside psychoanalysis, including history, literature, linguistics and ethology, he established the important link between mental health and the imagination, creating a broader perspective and encouraging free thinking. This solitary and creative "rebel" rarely received the recognition he deserved, but this collection of articles and papers by people who felt the benefit of his ever-curious, expanding wealth of knowledge, goes some way to acknowledging the debt owed to him, and introducing a new generation to this innovative analyst.

About this title

About the Author:

Jenny Pearson read English at Bristol University and worked as a journalist on The Times in the 1960s, after which she became a freelance journalist, writer and editor. Her first book, co-written with Jack Lambert, was Adventure Playgrounds (1974). She is a contributing editor of Discovering the Self Through Drama and Movement: The Sesame Approach (1996). She has trained as a counsellor with WPF and as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist with AIP. Her most recent book, co-edited with Frankie Armstrong, is about voice work and its effect on women’s attitudes, entitled Well-Tuned Women: Growing Strong Through Voice Work (2000). She was married to Charles Rycroft from 1978 until his death in 1998.

Review:

"In an era in which psychotherapy and psychoanalysis have become increasingly bureaucratized, and true innovation becomes increasingly rare, the late Charles Rycroft remains in our memories as a beacon of both inspiration and independence, unshackled by dogma and unimpressed by party politics. One of the very first psychoanalysts to write regularly for the general public, Rycroft helped convey psychological ideas to a wide audience, often risking the disapprobation of his more conservative colleagues in the process.

Jenny Pearson has produced a beautiful festschrift, which celebrates the work of Dr. Rycroft, reminding us of the soul, the passion and the intelligence of one of the outstanding figures in twentieth century British psychoanalysis. This poignant and readable portrait deserves a prominent position in the library of every mental health professional." (Brett Kahr, Senior Research Fellow in Psychotherapy and Mental Health, Centre for Child Mental Health, London, and Winnicott Clinic Senior Research Fellow in Psychotherapy)

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1855759047
• ISBN 13: 9781855759046
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 280