Psychotherapy and Politics International (E-Journal)
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Commentary on the struggle over abortion in the USA
Full text linkThis short paper considers the implications of the anti-abortion movement as part of a larger historical project of male domination, domination of nature, and exploitation of labor. It emphasizes how the attempt to control the mother and her body represents both denial of dependency and the split off defense of the vulnerable self projected into the symbol of the fetus. The refusal to accept the knowledge of one’s own harming, colonial-racist exploitation, is perversely bolstered by putting the onus of harming onto the other
War in a society of spectators: Ukraine 2022
Full text linkRussian society’s perception of the invasion of Ukraine is strikingly incompatible with the actual events. This article reflects on the surreal representation of Ukrainian war in Russian media and its powerful grip on a large part of the nation. Socialised in a universe of propaganda and conspiracy theories, the Russian citizenry appears simultaneously cynical and gullible, and above all highly receptive to Kremlin’s manipulations. Succumbing to this conspiratorial universe of meaning alters one’s perception of the world. Thus, on the one hand, the feeling of reality is diminished, to the extent that the Ukrainian people’s war suffering is rendered merely a performance by crisis actors, while the extensive destruction of Ukrainian cities is seen as staged film sets. On the other hand, the feeling of reality is heightened and charged with mysterious signification, generating a sense of a crystal-clear sight into the nature of politics and society. To understand the human experiential stance in this surreal world of virtual representation, the article engages with psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist’s (2019, 2021) and clinical psychologist Louis Sass’ (2017) exploration of schizophrenia in modern society
‘Listen with love’ : Exploring anti-racism dialogue in psychotherapy and counselling training
Full text linkThe research reported in this article analysed letters written by a cohort of psychotherapy and counselling students, in response to an anti-racism letter by Professor George Yancy entitled ‘Dear White America’. Fifteen responses were written by students who don’t experience racism, with one written by a student who does experience racism. A thematic analysis was conducted that produced five themes: connection with participants willing to challenge their racism; disconnection from participants unwilling to challenge their racism; anger; disappointment; and empathy. This article offers a discussion of these themes and also reflections on the interracial group processes that took place during the analysis. It concludes by considering the difficulties and challenges of speaking about racism, as well as exploring how this exercise could be better implemented in future
Black Identities and White Therapies: Working with Race, Ethnicity and Culture in and Outside the Therapy Room (Conference review): Online conference, 15–16 July 2022
No full text'The war, with all of its brutality and nonsense, came to my house': How invasion transformed our clinical psychology course
Full text linkThis article—a collaboration between us as student and educator—shares an example of Freirean praxis in a clinical psychology course. We discuss how our course was transformed when, one day after our first class of the semester, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine and students were suddenly and unexpectedly called on to host and/or provide support for forcibly displaced people from Ukraine. This article is our attempt to describe how the complex political context in which we found ourselves shaped and transformed our clinical psychology course and our experience of our learning environment. We reflect together on how we responded to the immediate consequences of this event, share what we learned through this experience, and discuss the implications for anti-oppressive practitioner educational contexts
Politics of the body in the 'woman, life, freedom' movement in Iran: A commentary
Full text linkOn 16 September 2022, nationwide protests broke out in Iran in reaction to the death of a 22-year-old girl, Mahsa Amini, who was killed by the morality police for not wearing a ‘proper hijab’ and led to the first women-led movement in Iran. This commentary explores the importance of this movement and historical moment as it relates to the form of resistance that is being exercised in fighting against the oppression of women under the current gender apartheid of the Islamic Republic. I examine the main slogans, symbols, and icons of this movement in the context of the politics of the body and a reclaiming of women’s bodies in a fight against a patriarchal dictatorship
Freud on war and violence: From disillusionment to hope, back and forth
Full text linkThis article analyses Sigmund Freud’s reflections on war and violence, especially in his two main works on this issue: Thoughts for the Time of War and Death (1915) and Why War? (1932). After presenting these two essays and placing them in their historical contexts, I briefly review what authors have written about them in recent years. I then attempt to contribute something new to the discussion by examining four of Freud’s propositions: his justification for disillusionment caused by war; his suspicion about peoples and states; his denunciation of the primitivism and hypocrisy of human beings; and his determination to maintain hope in culture and history. I consider these key points of Freud’s essays separately, showing their importance for Freud’s social theory and for his critique of modernity and civilisation in general
Spheres and civilization: Plato’s Aristophanes and Sigmund Freud’s politics of the psyche
Full text linkThis article argues that Sigmund Freud in Civilization and Its Discontents draws heavily from the human origins myth of Plato's Aristophanes to expound his own political theory. More specifically, the politically relevant psychical conflicts that lie at the center of Civilization and Its Discontents—the desire to return to an earlier state of psychic existence, the erotic drive, and the death drive—find their original articulation and political application from Plato’s Aristophanes as presented in the dialogue, Symposium. The exploration of connections between Freud’s work and Plato’s (1) shows how attuned ancient sources are to modern concerns; (2) increases our understanding of Freud’s theories by providing a more substantial context for considering his work; and (3) offers the possibility of alternative answers to modern questions
The politics of humanitarian aid: A case study of EMDR in Cambodia
Full text linkThe global expansion of psychotherapy through humanitarian aid is a political act. International aid organizations assert power over resource-scarce countries, make critical decisions about who receives care, who provides care, and what modalities are delivered. Once embedded in a country, programs exert influence between international interests, local governance, and the targeted population. This study adds to the limited information on how the humanitarian aid phenomenon is experienced by the practitioners who must navigate these conflicts through a case study of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in Cambodia. As a non-Western nation with a colonial and autogenocidal history, Cambodia offers a unique perspective for those interested in the concerns and challenges of globalized psychotherapy. As found in this case study, EMDR as humanitarian aid and a mental health movement pushes traumatology while simultaneously necessitating the need for EMDR. Findings suggest that Cambodians working as psychologists become dependent upon and caught between competing aid organizations
Conspiracy theories and flying saucers
Full text linkHow can we explain the recent enormous increase in the number of conspiracy theories and believers? Since the 1990s, two trends have moved in tandem: the rising number of conspiracy theories and the growing alarm over global warming. Is there some connection between these two trends? Looking to the 1950s, according to C. G. Jung, there was a connection between the number of sightings of flying saucers and the threat of nuclear war. His analysis serves as a template for our study of conspiracy theories, relying on the psychological processes of repression, projection, compensation, and dissociation. This article begins with a review of Jung’s study and then applies his approach to understand the current explosion of conspiracy theories