From Sign to Symbol: Transformational Processes in Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Psychology - Paperback
From Sign to Symbol: Transformational Processes in Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Psychology - Paperback
About this item
by Joseph Newirth (Author)
In From Sign to Symbol: Transformational Processes in Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Psychology, Joseph Newirth describes the evolution of the unconscious from the psychoanalytic concept that reflected Freud's positivist focus on symptoms and repressed memories to the contemporary structure that uses symbols and metaphors to create meaning within intimate, intersubjective relationships. Newirth integrates psychoanalytic theory with cognitive, developmental, and neuropsychological theories, and he differentiates two broad therapeutic strategies: an asymmetrical strategy that utilizes the logic of consciousness and emphasizes the differentiation of person, place, time, and causality in the world of objects, and a symmetrical strategy that utilizes the logic of the unconscious in the world of emotional, intersubjective experience. He presents multiple approaches to the use of these symmetrical therapeutic strategies, including the use of humor, dreams, metaphors, and implicit procedural learning, in transforming concrete symptoms and signs into the symbolic organizations of meaning. Examples from both psychotherapeutic practice and supervision are presented to illustrate the development of the capacity for symbolic thought or mentalization.
Author Biography
Joseph Newirth is professor at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University.
Curated additions for your library
Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book: The Original 1939 Edition - Hardcover
Not God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous - Paperback
When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us: Letting Go of Their Problems, Loving Them Anyway, and Getting on with Our Lives - Paperback
What is Love Really?: A Practical Guide to Universal Love - Paperback
