Drawing the Soul: Schemas and Models in Psychoanalysis

What 'shape' is the mind? How can we draw a 'diagram' of the soul?

Some of Freud's earliest writings contain sketches or models which supposedly illustrate the nature and function of mental processes. This book - a collection of brand new essays - considers the status and significance of these 'pictures of the mind', in Freud, and also in the work of the major psychoanalytic thinkers who came after him.

In the process, the reader is offered an unparalleled chance to compare and contrast the fundamental ideas and assumptions of key figures in psychoanalysis. After exploring models of the mind sketches by well-known representatives of the British School - such as Winnicott, Bion and Fairbairn - the contributors turn their attention to schemas proposed by Jung and Kohut. The book concludes with an examination of some of Lacan's diagrammatic formulations, and his unique contribution to this fascinating field of debate.