Creating a Psychoanalytic Mind

Fred Busch presents a contemporary take on Freudian thinking, applying it to several pressing questions in psychoanalysis. The book centres on a method Busch has developed and refined over roughly four decades, which he calls Creating a Psychoanalytic Mind. Its premise is that most psychoanalytic theories rest on a core therapeutic change: the patient must come to relate differently to their own inner life. Busch argues that a patient who develops a psychoanalytic mind can move from acting on impulse toward thoughtful reflection.

The approach grows out of a steadily sharper understanding of how the mind functions, which has prompted real shifts in how psychoanalysis is practised. Busch notes that although our understanding of the human condition has advanced since Freud, the ways of communicating that understanding to patients have not always kept pace. Throughout, he maintains that the analyst's expertise matters greatly, but that the analyst's main role is less to know the contents of a patient's mind than to help the patient discover their own.

The book is written for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists who want to learn a theory and technique in which psychoanalytic meaning and personal meaningfulness are brought together. Its aim is to help clinicians work in new ways and achieve better results with their patients.