Psychoanalysis, the NHS, and Mental Health Work Today

Download or read book Psychoanalysis, the NHS, and Mental Health Work Today written by Alison Vaspe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates the distinctive psychoanalytic contribution to mental health services for children, young people, and adults, with detailed case vignettes illustrating therapeutic treatment and the ways in which staff are supported to do work that is frequently difficult and disturbing. Psychoanalytic thinking contributes to effective mental health work on many levels, from Balint's "Flash" technique in the brief GP/patient encounter to the psychiatric medical and nursing care in secure units, where the most challenging patients need to be held. Starting with the historical contribution of psychoanalysis to the NHS in the 1940s, this book goes on to explore two key psychoanalytic concepts that remain highly relevant to the work of mental health: containment and countertransference. The authors include psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, organisational consultants, consultant psychiatrists, and a leading practitioner in the field of primary care.