Freud on the Couch: A Critical Introduction to the Father of Psychoanalysis

Paperback, 224 pages

English language

Published by Oneworld Publications.

ISBN:: 978-1-78074-262-5

(1 review)

Almost 75 years since his death, Freud remains as influential and divisive as ever. This major, new introduction argues that mistranslations, clichés, and misconceptions surround his reception. Author Beverley Clack argues that Freud was as concerned with "the death drive" as the "sex drive" and that his fierce critique of religion masked a fascination with spiritual, existential, and philosophical questions. Exploring how his life influenced his thought, plus philosophers like Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, Clack updates all of Freud’s key ideas and case studies and highlights why his work remains relevant.

1 edition

Alecs Ștefănescu reviewed Freud on the Couch: A Critical Introduction to the Father of Psychoanalysis by Beverley Clack

An easy read, a light introduction

3 stars

After hearing Freud's work referenced so heavily, I read Beverley Clack's book with a hope to understand what Freud actually thought about matters such as transference, the death drive, and so on. In a way, I got what I wanted, but I was also left wanting more.

The first part of the book which describes Freud's life and his relationships with important people in his life is by far the part that I found most useful to my personal effort to envision Freud. The detail that he had an difficult professional relationship to men, but an open and collaborative one with women, was surprising - and maybe a little bit endearing? The tender feelings don't go far, though - not when the details of the ways in which Freud's perspective has often failed to note the abuse and the horrific entrenched practices directed at young women at the hands of …

After hearing Freud's work referenced so heavily, I read Beverley Clack's book with a hope to understand what Freud actually thought about matters such as transference, the death drive, and so on. In a way, I got what I wanted, but I was also left wanting more.

The first part of the book which describes Freud's life and his relationships with important people in his life is by far the part that I found most useful to my personal effort to envision Freud. The detail that he had an difficult professional relationship to men, but an open and collaborative one with women, was surprising - and maybe a little bit endearing? The tender feelings don't go far, though - not when the details of the ways in which Freud's perspective has often failed to note the abuse and the horrific entrenched practices directed at young women at the hands of men who controlled their fate.

Reading this book as anything other than a cis man may give rise to thoughts about the failings of psychotherapy. However, I am also convinced that the book - and Freud's work, in general - is worth reading, in no small part for the usefulness of understanding the emergence of ideas which later shaped a better, more egalitarian exploration of ideology and the self.