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 its 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, fills 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. About the Editor: Salman Akhtar was born in India and completed his medical and psychiatric education there. Upon arriving in the USA in 1973, he repeated his psychiatric training at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and then obtained psychoanalytic training from the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute. Currently, he is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He has authored, edited or co-edited more than 300 publications including books on psychiatry and psychoanalysis and several collections of poetry. He is also a Scholar-in-Residence at the InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Salman Akhtar received the Sigourney Award in 2012. |