Narrative and Meaning : The Foundation of Mind, Creativity, and the Psychoanalytic Dialogue.

Narrative and Meaning examines the role of both in contemporary psychoanalytic practice, bringing together a distinguished group of contributors from across the intersubjective, relational, and interpersonal schools of psychoanalytic thought. The contributions propose that narratives or stories in a variety of non-verbal and verbal forms are the foundation of mind, creativity, and the clinical dialogue. From the beginning of life, human experience gains expression through the integration of perception, cognition, memory and affect into mini or complex narratives. This core proposal is illustrated in chapters referencing creativity, psychoanalytic process, gesture, and sensory-motor activity, dreams, music, conflicting narratives in couples, imaginative stories of adopted children, identity, and individuality. Including a major revision in theory based upon an expanded definition of narrative, this book is an essential read for any contemporary psychoanalyst wishing to use narrative in their practice. Featuring essential theory and a wealth of practical clinical material, Narrative and Meaning will appeal greatly to both psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists. Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- 1 Narrative and meaning -- 2 The dialogic nature of narrative in creativity and the clinical exchange -- 3 Resilience, seeking, and narratives about the self -- 4 Music as narrative -- 5 The dream narrative -- 6 Narrative tradition: placing the clinical narrative within a broader narrative tradition -- 7 Storying suffering of every conceivable sort -- 8 The Ghost Kingdom: the secret narrative of the adoptee's birth and origins -- 9 At the edge of the knowable: personal reflections on how far narrative takes us -- 10 Narrative contributions to the core sense of self, identity, and individuality -- Index