Mistrust: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Realms

Editor : Salman Akhtar

Book Details

Publisher : Routledge
Published : September 2016
Cover : Paperback
Pages : 256
Category :
Psychoanalysis
Category 2 :
Bargain and Discounted Titles
Catalogue No : 38990
ISBN 13 : 9781782204886
ISBN 10 : 1782204881

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Humans are weak. Lacking the claws and thick skins of other animals, we are forced to rely on members of our own species to survive and flourish in the world. The fact that the human infant is born in an utterly helpless state also makes others’ protective care necessary. Attachment, bonding, concern, and mutuality thus become cornerstones of human existence. Trust also enters this equation. Originating in the early mother-child relationship, trust continues to grow, get contextually refined tempered by reality testing, and gain nuances throughout the subsequent adult life. Its absence (mistrust) or malformation (distrust) contributes to psychopathology and is responsible for much intrapsychic distress and interpersonal strife.

Given its formative significance and it crucial role in the therapeutic process, one is surprised by the paucity of psychoanalytic writings specifically devoted to the topic of trust and mistrust. Few, if any, monographs on trust exist. This new book, edited by Salman Akhtar, seeks to fill this gap. A collection of essays written specifically for this volume, it deals with the ontogenesis, psychopathology, cultural vicissitudes, and technical implications of trust and mistrust. Distinguished psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, and litterateurs provide penetrating insights on normative, relativistic, and morbid phenomena in this realm. Seamless blending of theory and technique makes the book both scientific and useful. The reader is assured an informative map of a psychic terrain that is fundamental to human existence.

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About the Editor(s)
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Reviews and Endorsements

‘Rarely has a book been more timely. Mistrust increasingly lies at the heart of political and social upheavals throughout the world. Many have lost trust in our
institutions and our leaders, indeed, in fellow humans – the “others” – who are especially mistrusted. Dr Salman Akhtar and ten international contributors offer
valuable insights on the origins, nature and consequences of mistrust throughout the life cycle and from psychoanalytic, psychological, cultural and clinical perspectives. A book not to be missed.’
— Frederick Lowy, Former Dean of Medicine, University of Toronto and President of Concordia University, Montreal

‘In this comprehensive and noteworthy contribution to psychoanalysis, Salman Akhtar brings into focus the ontogenetic development and interpersonal roots of trust and mistrust. Drawing on clinical, literary, cultural, historical, and even political sources, the contributors Akhtar has brought together fill a significant gap in our literature. As a result, this volume with its plurality of perspectives will become a lasting guidepost not only for psychoanalysts but clinicians at all level of training and experience.’
— Shahrzad Siassi, Faculty, New Center for Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles, and author of Forgiveness in Intimate Relationships

About the Editor(s)

Salman Akhtar, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He has served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. His more than 450 publications include twenty-three solo authored books – Broken Structures (1992), Quest for Answers (1995), Inner Torment (1999), Immigration and Identity (1999), New Clinical Realms (2003), Objects of Our Desire (2005), Regarding Others (2007), Turning Points in Dynamic Psychotherapy (2009), The Damaged Core (2009), Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (2009), Immigration and Acculturation (2011), Matters of Life and Death (2011), Psychoanalytic Listening (2013), Good Stuff (2013), Sources of Suffering (2014), No Holds Barred (2016), A Web of Sorrow (2017), Mind, Culture, and Global Unrest (2018), Silent Virtues (2019), Tales of Transformation (2022), In Leaps and Bounds (2022), and In Short (2024) – as well as sixty-nine edited or coedited volumes in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Dr. Akhtar has delivered many prestigious addresses and lectures including, most significantly, the inaugural address at the first IPA-Asia Congress in Beijing, China (2010). Dr. Akhtar is the recipient of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Best Paper of the Year Award (1995), the Margaret Mahler Literature Prize (1996), the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians’ Sigmund Freud Award (2000), the American College of Psychoanalysts’ Laughlin Award (2003), the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Edith Sabshin Award (2000), Columbia University’s Robert Liebert Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychoanalysis (2004), the American Psychiatric Association’s Kun Po Soo Award (2004), the Irma Bland Award for being the Outstanding Teacher of Psychiatric Residents in the country (2005), and the Nancy Roeske Award (2012). He received the Sigourney Award (2013), which is the most prestigious honor in the field of psychoanalysis. Dr. Akhtar is an internationally sought speaker and teacher, and his books have been translated in many languages, including German, Turkish, and Romanian. His interests are wide and he has served as the film review editor for the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and is currently serving as the book review editor for the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. He has published eighteen collections of poetry and serves as a scholar-in-residence at the Inter-Act Theatre Company in Philadelphia. His Selected Papers (Vols I–X) were recently published and released at a festive event held at the Freud House & Museum in London.