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Exploring what it means to be an authentic therapist in the present day, Sara London playfully melds together the tenets of performance art and psychoanalytic theory to advance the hopeful new notion of the performance therapist.
In an era where the therapist is now more of a public-facing entity than ever before, developing a sense of who one is both inside and outside of the consulting room is a complex undertaking. In response, London reconceptualises the therapist's identity in a contemporary way, transcending preconceived labels, by bringing an understanding of performance art into an analysis of psychotherapeutic practice. Through this interdisciplinary approach, London attends to the complex questions faced by psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in training and in practice: can a therapist perform and be authentic? Can a therapist perform and have true intimate relationships within the confines of that performance? And can a therapist perform as themselves?
This provocative and highly original work will provide both new and experienced psychotherapists with an understanding of the clinical and philosophical significance of performance art to cultivating therapeutic identity.
List of contents
Part One: Performance Art 1. History of Performance Art 2. Performance Art in Practice 3. Performance Art in Psychoanalysis
Part Two: Identity 1. The Tripartite Structure 2. The Persona 3. The False Self and the Idealized Image
Part Three: Performance 1. The Structural Performance 2. The Emotional Performance 3. The Intersection of Structure and Emotion: How Therapeutic Performance Looks 4. The Therapeutic Table Set for Two
Part Four: Authenticity 1. Performing a 'Real Relationship' 2. Self-Disclosure and Authenticity 3. Authenticity and the Environment
Part Five: Application 1. Coming into Being (or, the Magic of Relating)
About the author
Sara London, M.A. is a freelance journalist, author, and satirist-when-convenient. She has a graduate degree in a specialised psychoanalytic research program from New York University's Gallatin School. Additionally, she writes articles about psychology, wellness, pop culture, and the future of work primarily to fund her many hare-brained schemes.
Summary
Exploring what it means to be an authentic therapist in the present day, Sara London playfully melds together the tenets of performance art and psychoanalytic theory to advance the hopeful new notion of the performance therapist.
