Recently published by Routledge and edited by BPA member, Jean Arundale, this book examines omnipotence from a range of psychoanalytic perspectives, from its positive value in normal development through to its potential as a destructive element in the personality.
Linked with narcissism but underdeveloped as a concept in its own right, omnipotence is explored by chapters in this book written by well-known psychoanalytic authors: John Steiner, Thomas Ogden, Michael Feldman, Mark Solms, Lesley Steyn, Alessandra Lemma, Noel Hess, Sara Flanders and others. It presents a range of psychoanalytic perspectives, including its positive value in normal development through to its potential as a destructive element in the personality.
The Omnipotent State of Mind is divided into five parts, each exploring a specific theme. The contributors explore omnipotence in infants, children, adolescents and adults, consider why it is so difficult to give up, and examine how the omnipotent state of mind is expressed in culture and society. The range of attitudes towards omnipotence within different psychoanalytic traditions is represented by the international selection of contributors.
Included is a piece by Herbert Rosenfeld that has not appeared before in an English publication.
The Omnipotent State of Mind will be of great interest to psychoanalysts in practice and in training, to psychoanalytic psychotherapists and to other professionals interested in omnipotent states of mind.
Unsolicited comment by a psychoanalytic psychotherapist…
“I’m finding “The Omnipotent State of Mind” so thought-provoking and learning so much from this splendidly edited study of such an important aspect of the psyche. Jean Arundale writes so lucidly and accessibly and has selected such thoughtful, erudite and experienced clinicians to contribute. I’ve read 3 or 4 of the articles and have been riveted. I’m so grateful to have this excellent book.”
Table of Contents
Introduction
In the beginning . . .
1. The survival function of primitive omnipotence | JOAN SYMINGTON
2. The thumb-in-the-mouth phantasy and the capacity to love | LESLEY STEYN
3. Peter Pan, the omnipotent child | KATHLEEN KELLEY-LAINÉ
In the adolescent . . .
4. Omnipotence in adolescence | SARA FLANDERS
5. Customising the body: From omnipotence to autonomy | ALESSANDRA LEMMA
In the adult . . .
6. On three forms of thinking: Magical thinking, dream thinking, and transformative thinking | THOMAS H. OGDEN
7. The appeal of omnipotence | MICHAEL FELDMAN
8. A neuropsychoanalytic note on omnipotence | MARK SOLMS
9. The relinquishment of omnipotence in a severely traumatised patient | HEINZ WEISS
10. Possessed by a cruel God: The damaging effect of an omnipotent internal object | CARLOS TAMM
11. From patients to presidents: The Grand Illusion | FRANK SUMMERS
Why is omnipotence so difficult to give up?
12. Overcoming obstacles in analysis: Is it possible to relinquish omnipotence and accept receptive femininity? | JOHN STEINER
13. Omnipotence and the difficulty in relinquishing it | DAVID SIMPSON AND JEAN ARUNDALE
The desire for power in culture and society . . .
14. Omnipotence and the paradoxes of insight: A Darwinian look | JORGE L. AHUMADA
15. Lear, Kane and the workings of omnipotence | NOEL HESS
16. Applying my theory of psychosis to the Nazi phenomenon | HERBERT ROSENFELD
17. The destructiveness of omnipotence and ‘perverted containing’: Psychoanalytic reflections on the dynamic between Donald Trump and his supporters | KARIN JOHANNA ZIENERT-EILTS
18. Notes toward a model for omnipotence | JEAN ARUNDALE
About the editor
Jean Arundale, PhD, is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytic Association and author of the book Identity, Narcissism, and the Other (Routledge). She is also co-editor of Transference and Countertransference and Interpretive Voices (both Routledge).
Featured image: Book cover © Routledge. Book mock up/background: Image by mockupguy2 on Freepik
