TL;DR: Anyone ever see Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development used in literary criticism?

This is cross posted from r/socialscience but I thought it might be appropriate here? Apologies if not. I understand this sub is probably related more to clinical psychoanalysis than psychoanalytic literary criticism.

I‘m a social work/psych undergrad who has had to take a lot of literature classes. I am currently working on a psychoanalytic critique of Miller’s Death Of a Salesman, and one of the things which stood out to me in this play is that the protagonist really seems to grapple with a conflict that I intepretend to be very similar to Erik Erikson’s concept of Generativity vs. Stagnation, the 7th stage of development according to his psychosocial theory. (For those unfamiliar, here is a brief overview from ISU’s Digital Press https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/individualfamilydevelopment/chapter/erikson-and-psychosocial-theory/ )

For those who are familar with literary criticism and Erikson’s Theory, could anyone recommend papers or articles related to both? Has Erikson’s theory been used within literary criticism before? Alternatively, if anyone could even suggest keywords or phrases to help me in my research, it would be helpful. Sometimes I write about topics that interest me, but I’m not at a level in my education where I know the academic terminology/jargon. Edit: I do have access to JSTOR and ResearchGate, among other databases.

Thanks :~}

Aspiring analyst here, trying to make the best of my time before I hopefully start training in the fall and seeing my first patient ever in a year.

I just finished McWilliams' Diagnosis and Therapy books, Mitchell's Freud and Beyond, deeply enjoyed all three, it felt perfect for my level (and all are beautifully written, and McWilliams I'm a starry-eyed fanboy of as I share so much of her sensibilities on analysis history/sociology/epistemics, I'm terribly under-mentored and finding a senior you can respect is an astonishingly rare pure delight). I read a good chunk of Gabbard's textbook earlier which was useful but felt less well-written or engaging.

I've been flipping through recommendations here

https://www.reddit.com/r/psychoanalysis/comments/qevlbt/textbooks_on_psychoanalytic_psychotherapy/

and not feeling particularly drawn to anything: very basics I feel I've covered, deeper technique books feel premature. Theory books I feel a bit ambivalent about: I've just started Mitchell's "relational concepts" and it feels pretty good so far, though might get to a point of being over my head, and was made aware of Ellman's "when theories touch" - I'm gravitating towards more modern more consensus accounts as you can see. But ultimately I feel I lack the experiential base** to bind the theory against, so I'm hesitant of putting too many chips on that.

What I feel I could use more of is phenomenology: case histories? in depth dives into somebody's analysis and subjectivity?
I loved Gill Straker's popular "the talking cure" book which is kinda like that: explaining some concepts and character patterns via in-depth patient sketches (and her "three associating" podcast). I feel I could use both more of that, and a deeper version of that (she does a dozen characters in a short book, so the portrayals are somewhat shallow).

Would appreciate your recommendations!

​

** Open to recommendations for relevant enriching experiences as well. For now I'm making do with my own analysis and self-analysis, watching artsy movies giving me rich subjective emotional material, doing circling/authentic relating (see eg https://www.relateful.com/ ) providing very rich leaderless group-therapy like vulnerable emotionally open space experiences (main drawback being, again, lack of accumulated depth/of how much of one's character I get to see, even the few recurring characters I'd only see once a week, and many aren't coming that regularly)

How is it possible that Paul Diel is so neglected? His theory of introspection and the psychology of motivation is quite interesting.

Are the Lacanians aware that Lacan was interrupted and rejected during the lectures at the psychoanalytic congress? Ernest Jones did not allow Lacan to introduce his theories...and this is not a teaching that can be called Freudianism.

See none talks about that. The curriculum covers topics that I personally interested in. Does anyone know about this program? How is the experience of getting training or treatment here?

I'm also considering NYPSI. Would appreciate any advice!

I have book on my reading list for a long time but still didnt start it. Udwin analyzed the correlation between sexual behavior and the societal development of various cultures throughout history.

His findings suggest that no culture in human history could maintain sexual freedom and cultural development. Cultures that had strict sexual regulations tended to be more innovative and successful than others.

Once tiping point in culture sexual regulation is crossed, three generations later that culture will colapse.

Lets say our tipping point was sexual revolution, it means that 3 generations later, around 2060, 70, 80 our culture will colapse ( based on his findings ).

Prominent Indian psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar has passed away yesterday at the age of 86. He lived a long life and wrote several books on culture and the psyche. He was trained under Erik Erickson. His most prominent work was The Indians which was a view of Indian society from a psychonalaytical lens. I post this here because I was a long standing admirer of his work, and I feel like there would be people on this subreddit that appreciate his scholarship.

I am doing my second year social work internship next year at a relational institute and will likely be seeing some patients virtually, plus some virtual intakes. I am designing a nook in my apartment for my "office" for these remote days. For those of you who work virtually with video (where patient can see you), especially from your home, what does your setup look like? What did you put on the walls? What chair do you sit in? How do you set up your computer? What else are you looking at? Would love some inspiration!

Are there any papers/case study describing how psychoanalysis view autism or its treatment ?

If you have also been wait in for it to start streaming for free, I am happy to share that you too can begin your day with Anthony Hopkins at Freud.

I’d be curious to discuss with others once I finish watching.

Enjoy!

I can’t access the articles! Please help a baby BA Psych Major out.

What is a break-up? Like why are they so painful? Why do we chop up or burn our exes clothes (even if we don't hate them per se)... Is it just mourning the loss of another? Can we reasonably read that pain as grief? Any texts on this would helpful. Fink doesn't address breakups, only love.

I'm thinking about the way Almodovar depicts break-ups.

I'm currently shopping institutes for my LP track training, would love to collect a range of informal opinions about the institutes for myself and future prospective candidates. Make a throwaway account and give us something juicy :)
Below are some of my impressions and opinions (highly subjective and colored by who I am and by what I've seen, ofc), in my usual techie/autistic direct/explicit/ignorant of decorum style.

I asked an analyst acquaintance for institute recommendations when I was just starting my research, and he gave me a list of: Columbia, PANY, NYPSI, CFS, IPTAR. I asked another analyst I was chatting with later to give me a list of five institutes, and that list got reproduced, so, some inter-rater validity there. This is pretty much the list of IPA-affiliated institutes with the exception of White and AIP. White my acquaintance was surprised was directly listed in IPA directory as he thought they only had membership thru APA, and vaguely discouraged me from going there by gesturing at some internal/political issues without getting into any detail - which I'm a bit conflicted about, as I'm hearing White is more relational, NYPSI classical freudian and CFS/IPTAR contemporary freudian, and while I'm not well-read enough in analysis yet to hold strong opinions, my sensibilities for now seem more relational/self-psychology than freudian. I'm struggling to figure out how much institute's orientation truly matters for training, as it seems all of them are relatively broad-minded these days, have ppl from a range of orientations, teach all the important analytic schools.

Columbia I think only takes in doctorate clinicians, and PANY either doctorate or masters level, so those aren't on the table for me. The other 3 from the list I checked out to some extent.

CFS projected friendly/honest/authentic vibes, the guys running the open house and another one of their officers I met all being later in life career changers from elite careers (high finance, elite law etc) - small sample ofc, but still, different from say NYPSI's "everyone is MD psychiatrist or clinical psych PhD" or IPTAR's "we have connections to NYU and gonna present our papers" vibes that I caught. I've heard from both CFS and others that CFS and IPTAR are rather similar, IPTAR being about twice the size, more formal/bureaucratic (I've heard horror stories re how they rly rly want you to switch to their own analysts), while CFS is more informal/family-like (their own words).

NYPSI (unsurprisingly) projected prestige vibes: all the MDs and PhDs, rigour and excellence, twice a week vs once a week classes, in-person rounds at Mt Sinai via connections they have seems like a unique feature of their program. I'm torn between the appeal of excellence and the fear of a den of paternalistic narcissists still exhibiting some of the traits we hate mid-century analysts for - sounds like one of those "one's best qualities are another side of one's foibles" thing.

The top of Mazlow's hierarchy of needs is "self-actualization;" what does psychoanalysis tell us about this, philosophically?

And what are the correct understandings?

I am looking for primary and secondary literature which aims to bring the ideas of Marx closer to that of psychoanalysis, as I'm interested in their conjunction.

I'm looking for any writings on the topic of psychoanalytic theory applied to the understanding of those in the kink community, specifically the dad-son kink in the gay community. If people aren't aware of any written work on this, what would be the general interpretation of this from a psychoanalytic point of view?

I'm looking for what the title says.

I recently listened to a lecture series given on Wilfrid Sellars by Robert Brandom. During the discussion on Sellars' essay "Philosophy And The Scientific Image Of Man", Brandom suggested that there might be an interesting connection between the way Sellars uses the phrase "Manifest Image" to describe our everyday conception of ourselves in the world and Freud's use of the phrase in his dream work. I think it'd be fun to explore that connection, so I'm looking for things to read.

Obviously, Sellars' essay and The Interpretation Of Dreams are of primary importance, and perhaps On Dreams as well. I'm sure, however, that there is more worthwhile reading material here. Is anyone aware of the intellectual precursors to Freud's invention of Manifest Content? And does anyone have good secondary sources or interesting developments of the concept through the 1960s?

Hi everyone! I’m new here and have some questions: Is obsessional neurosis a personality trait or an illness? Is it curable or is it only treated to improve but will always remain present?

this is for assignment I'm doing

Could someone explain “feminine jouissance” in layman’s terms? Thanks!

I am thinking of signing up for the 2024-25 foundations program and wonder if anyone on here has studied/ worked with them and have any feedback. Thanks ahead of time!

Does anyone know of any texts on loneliness, especially chronic or long-term loneliness? Or texts relevant to loneliness, even if it is not explored explicitly, that can help further my understanding of it and the effects it might have in a psychoanalytic way?

Within psychiatry people dislike psychoanalysis, describing it as a cult or religion that has no foundational basis to actually draw theories from. What made this idea of psychoanalysis appear?

Want to read any beginner level books on the topic of Perversion. Can anybody recommend a way?

One of the remarkable things about psychoanalysis, to me anyway, is its ability to explain and shed light on a part of our inner lives that we often have little to no access to. One thing I've noticed (this is particularly widespread these days with the proliferation of content on social media that usually deals with the childhood experiences that shape why people struggle in their romantic relationships) is that people are increasingly very self-aware about the causes of their problems and the issues they have, but it seems that this knowledge isn't translating into any sort of transformative understanding. It strikes me as perhaps the difference between wisdom and knowledge, where just seeing what you're doing for what it is and understanding maybe why you're doing it isn't enough to change your internal experience, actions, and therefore outcomes. I would be curious to hear what others' thoughts are on this, how can individuals who articulate so much insight remain so stuck?

I'm talking with respect to the 20th century. And of recent it seems more viable to rather read Lacan with Marx than Freud.

Hey all, I (24f) am applying for a Master in Social Work for 2025 Feb intake in Aus. I also have an interest in psychology and have been trying to find ways to get into the field through social work. For my gap year, I want to take on a course which may be helpful and relevant to my interests, as well as my college.

The country (South Asia) where I reside in does offer "Psycho-social counselling training", however they are not up to par, severely mismanaged and utterly shite overall. I was doing some research online (like on coursera) looking for certified courses which I could take on for the next 6-10 months and stumbled upon the Institute of Psychoanalysis of UK.

Would anyone be able to give me suggestions? Should I go for the online course from the institute? Do you have any other recommendations? Anything would be helpful! Cheers!

I thought I would share this article here. It offers an often missed perspective when it comes to the psychoanalytic dyad. It's a write-up from a patient of a prestigious Kleinian who as an adult found that his 3-year child analysis was used again and again in her write-ups. He has a very different perspective on what happened in the treatment that felt unhelpful, miserable even.

I'm a long practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapist who is finishing up his second year at an analytic institute. One thing that has often bothered me about our field is the insularity. I think the article offers a really good example of what Jessica Benjamin is getting at in her Beyond the Doer and Done To article discussing the Third. She talks about the way that many schools of analytic thought rely on a Third in the One (a moral third), where they rely heavily on their theory to exclusion of the patient's subjectivity. She argues that there must first be a One in the Third (energetic third), a sort of intersubjective space, before the Third in the One becomes useful. At least I think I'm remembering that right!

This raises plenty of juicy ethical and theoretical questions for folks to dive into.

https://aeon.co/essays/my-dismal-years-in-psychoanalysis-with-melanie-kleins-disciple

I’m a fourth year psych resident about to teach second year psych residents about transference and countertransference and how to talk about the therapy relationship and bringing into the room. We’re all in a specialized therapy training track so we’re not completely new to this but I think it would helpful to have a paper to structure the lecture around, something beginner/intermediate level to discuss the therapeutic relationship. Thanks in advance!