Different Paths Towards Becoming a Psychoanalyst and Psychotherapist

"This remarkable and unique collection of essays will be of extreme interest to people wherever they are on their journey to becoming psychoanalysts. The diverse experiences, challenges and struggles of a diverse group of accomplished analysts, narrated with remarkable candor, will promote reflection in candidates, colleagues and patients as they navigate their own paths." - Robert Prince, Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis

"What does it take to become a psychoanalyst or psychotherapist? This collection of personal narratives by individuals steeped in different theoretical traditions reveals no singular developmental explanation. Some become therapists after experiencing youthful trauma. Others took on an instinctive role of caretaker in early life. Still others came to their vocation with a predisposition for the arts – music, literature, theatre, or photography – and even the priesthood. What all had in common was curiosity about and empathy for the human condition. Further, they all manage to engage the reader with their life stories, so generously shared in this volume." - Jack Drescher, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University

"Arnold Rachman and Harold Kooden masterfully pulled together a collection of twelve chapters, compellingly written by distinguished psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and various disciplines. In this unique and comprehensive book, each contributor offers autobiographical details of early and painful subjective life experiences, illuminating their resilience and post-traumatic growth. The crucial impact of the analytic interaction and influence of mentors, teachers and theorists are emphasized, as well as their creative and innovative ability to integrate their personal history with translated knowledge from their professional discipline to enrich, deepen and expand their use of self in a two-person therapeutic experience. This is an important book for clinicians of all levels of experience, inspiring for those contemplating entering this field and reassuring for anyone embarking upon psychotherapeutic treatment." - Susan A. Klett, PhD, PsyD, LCSW-R, Training and Supervising Analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis LA, Faculty at the Institute of the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society, former President of Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society