The past continues to operate powerfully, wordlessly, in that less conscious part of our human mind and can trip us up unexpectedly. We can perceive and respond to situations in ways which are more to do with early experiences than the present. We can push from mind what we would rather not know. Feelings such as doubt and sadness can seem too weak; envy and anger, too bad; feeling small and in any way in need, could leave us too vulnerable.
Though most will never have their own experience of psychoanalysis (or less intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy), psychoanalytic ideas can be profoundly helpful in making sense of ourselves. Having some access to those more hidden parts of our human mind, we can feel more alive, more real and less likely to act out in unexpected ways.
An accessible, sympathetic and challenging guide, The Rough Beast: Psychoanalysis in Everyday Life is for all those who are curious and sceptical as to what, why and how psychoanalytic understanding is useful in everyday life.
Denise Cullington is a psychoanalyst in private practice in Oxford, UK. She trained at the Institute of Psychoanalysis, the Tavistock Clinic, London and as a clinical psychologist. Prior to that she lived and painted in the US and in Puerto Rico. Her book Breaking Up Blues (2008, Routledge) brought analytic thinking to the task of managing break-up and divorce.
Title: The Rough Beast: Psychoanalysis in Everyday Life (Psychoanalytic Ideas)
Author: Cullington, Denise
ISBN: 9781782203674
Binding:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date: 2018-10-02
Number of Pages: 174
Weight: 0.3001 kg
What a range of treasures are here to be found, to be enjoyed and to be learned from. Somehow Cullington manages to cover all stages of life, and all of it simply described with her delightful imagination and skills of description, and each supported by telling clinical vignettes...
All of this is so beautifully written some readers may find this book almost impossible to put down. But there are such riches to be discovered here, this remarkable book calls out to be read and re-read. There will be more to find and to enjoy with each reading.
It is so readily accessible, and yet much of it so profound, it will reward readers from any stage of clinical experience and, just as readily, any 'ordinary' reader who is curious about psychoanalytic ideas and how these can support and enrich them along life's journey. We are indebted to Denise Cullington for sharing with us the rich benefits of her study and life-long clinical experience. Bravo! --Patrick Casement, author of the well-known Learning From... series of books
I enjoyed the passion that she brings to her presentation of the analytic apporach and her plea for its relevance and value today. --Therapy Today (March 2019)
In praise of Breaking Up Blues:A guide to survival and growth (Routledge, 2008):
This is the kind of thing that gives psychoanalysis a good name...full of that kind of concrete but gradual, hard earned human growth. The basic premise - that there are no easy routes or short-cuts, is so heartening to read, in a world where that's all people look for. You really faced the human condition, and in doing so empowered your readers. --Steve Biddulph, Author, Raising Boys, Manhood
Unique in its combination of depth and accessibility. It deserves to be a classic. --Margot Waddell, Tavistock Clinic
This is a book that lives and breathes for those looking for practical help in the middle of marital disarray ... a beacon of understanding at what are often some very dark moments ... jargon-free. --Anthony Cantle, B J Psychotherapy
Compelling authority and depth that grabs the attention of the reader from the outset ... hugely helpful... it left me feeling hopeful. --Christopher Vincent, B J Fam Therapy
The author teases out all the tangled threads of feeling, and once disentangled they seem less frightening, enabling the overwhelmed confused person to feel that he/she is a sane person who is upset and caught up in a process, rather than a crazy person who is trapped and not understood. I wish I'd had your book thirty years ago. --Dr Gill Flower, Amazon.co.uk review
She writes with a kind of controlled urgency... . I kept almost hearing this, an echo of off-page laughter, and a sure sign of wisdom... The book never talks down to the reader: its talkative register, and a complete absence of evasiveness in the advice, means that the person addressing you may be terse, funny, sometimes brusque - but can be trusted.... It's terrific. --Jim Pye, Oxford Psychotherapy Society Bulletin
If you are in an unsatisfactory relationship - or if you've already broken up and you're unhappy about it - then this book will not only make you feel better, it will help you avoid making the same mistakes again. --Jonathan Self, Author, Self Abuse
The reader is taken with immense empathy from devastation to personal growth, whilst every aspect is addressed, never hesitating to challenge and reality test opinions and beliefs .. I would not hesitate to recommend it to clients. --Jenny Bloomer, Therapy Today
Rich psychological insights are expressed in a refreshingly direct and accessible way. --Journal of Analytical Psychology, (54) 2009
Highly recommended --Judith Wallerstein, Author, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce
A wise and practical book --Dorothy Rowe
Excellent --Bel Mooney
It was such a riveting book with so much information that had to read it a bit at a time. I had sever aha moments and even laughed out loud. I started to 'mark' the book with pertenent
passages and then I realized I was 'totally' marking it. --Nancy J. Shepherd, Amazon.com review
This is a self-help book with a difference... unique in its comprehensiveness. --Joan Wexler, JAPA
The wide range of non-analytic source material and Cullington's readiness to mingle it with analytic ideas and case material reveals her as an accessible clinical practitioner with an enquiring mind, whilst supporting her assertion that these ideas thread through the whole of human experience.
-Andrew West, https://afwest.com/
