Professor Vamik Volkan may well be the Leonardo da Vinci of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. A venerable clinician and an author of numerous impeccable textbooks, Volkan has also distinguished himself as a unique political consultant to many world leaders and has undertaken more work in this field than any other mental health practitioner in history. Indeed, Volkan has received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize on no fewer than five occasions. Ferhat Atik – a Turkish-Cypriot writer – has produced a concise and compelling biography of Professor Volkan, which outlines the contributions of this inspiring senior colleague who, inter alia, has held the post as Chair of the Committee on Psychiatry and Foreign Affairs of the American Psychiatric Association; has created the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction, as well as the International Dialogue Initiative; and has served as adviser to presidents and other heads of state. In addition to Atik’s finely written text, the black and white photographs reproduced herein leave one speechless:  Volkan standing next to Yasser Arafat; Volkan smiling alongside Jimmy Carter; Volkan engaging with Mikhail Gorbachev; and Volkan actually embracing Desmond Tutu! One cannot help but admire the ability of this extraordinary man to tackle racism, warfare, terrorism, and large-group psychology in such a hopeful manner. Atik’s biography of Volkan reveals that psychotherapists have infinite potential not only to treat patients but, also, to engage with the rest of the world.

Over the years, many sneering critics have dismissed psychoanalysis as little more than navel-gazing for the entitled and wealthy of Park Avenue or Hampstead.  But anyone who takes the time to read Gabrielle Brown’s vitally important new, edited book about psychotherapeutic engagement with the homeless and destitute will be moved to tears and will admire the sturdy work undertaken with those men and women who simply have no access to our comfortable, carpet-covered or leather couches. An experienced psychotherapist, currently based at the Portman Clinic in London, having served previously as Senior Psychotherapist in the Lifeworks Psychotherapy Team at St. Mungo’s Homeless Charity, Brown has curated a collection of fine essays written by some very experienced colleagues, documenting their paradigm-shifting contributions to the field. A book of this nature gives us hope that, one day, compassionate psychological treatments will become available to every single human being, irrespective of social class and financial status.

As one scans the bibliographies in the British Journal of Psychotherapy and The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, one will find copious references to publications by Sigmund Freud, Donald Winnicott, John Bowlby, and other distinguished psychological authors. But rarely will a modern academic mental health periodical cite the works of Socrates. Although regarded by many as one of the bedrocks of Western civilisation, few people nowadays have the time or the inclination to immerse themselves in the study of the classics. Sigmund Freud, however, had a great deal of admiration for Socrates; indeed, some will argue that Socrates’s passionate emphasis on self-awareness might well lie at the very heart of psychotherapy itself.  For those keen to fill the gaps in their education, one can do no better than read Professor Armand D’Angour’s erudite and engaging tome, Socrates in Love:  The Making of a Philosopher.  Launched at Daunt Books earlier this year, D’Angour – a noted academic at the University of Oxford – has provided us with a masterclass in ancient philosophy and psychology. Written with the skill of both a wise scholar and a captivating storyteller, this beautifully produced and affordable volume, warmly endorsed by such cultural icons as Tom Holland and Baroness Helena Kennedy, will certainly help us to catch up with the last 2500 years of world knowledge.

Thank goodness for the Freud Museum London! I cannot imagine what we would do without this magnificent institution – certainly one of the “go to” places for psychotherapeutic conferences and book launches and, of course, the only building where we, in the United Kingdom can truly commune with the spirit of the man whom one of my colleagues refers to, affectionately, as “Papa Freud”.  Although the famous consulting room at Maresfield Gardens in London’s Swiss Cottage will be only too familiar to every practising mental health professional, very few visitors to this wonderful shrine will know much, if anything, about the precise history of the approximately 2000 items in Freud’s unique and valuable collection of antiquities.  Happily, Bryony Davies, the Assistant Curator at the museum, in collaboration with her staff colleagues, has provided us with a wonderful archival account of many of Freud’s iconic items, offering readers a detailed narration of the dating and the significance of many of these centuries-old archaeological treasures, including the ancient Roman figure of Athena; the jade Chinese scholar screen from the Qing Dynasty; and the nineteenth-century Japanese amulet, made of ivory and shaped like a phallus. This book, magnificently illustrated with colour photographs taken by the gifted Karolina Urbaniak (who also designed the layout of the text), would make the ideal Christmas present, not only for psychological workers but, also, for anyone interested in ancient art or history.

Although we have no shortage of tomes written by the late, great Dr John Bowlby on our shelves, whether his famous trilogy on Attachment and Loss or his more concise book A Secure Base:  Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory, Dr Robbie Duschinsky – a scholar at the University of Cambridge – and Kate White – a distinguished clinical practitioner who created The Bowlby Centre along with her husband John Southgate – have scoured through the archives at the Wellcome Library in London and have unearthed some utterly brilliant writings by Dr Bowlby, all previously unpublished. With the blessing of the gracious and generous Bowlby family, Duschinsky and White have produced a text of tremendous readability and meticulous attention to detail.  Above all, they have provided an opportunity for Bowlby to speak to us once more and to share his never-ending insights. The gems published herein include an essay on the psychological consequences of evacuation during World War II; various unpublished lectures; as well as a priceless, captivating interview with John Bowlby, the heroic progenitor of child psychology. Collectively, these rare documents remind us of the toxic effects of broken attachments across the life cycle – a rare insight, sadly, during Dr Bowlby’s own lifetime. Anyone working in the mental health professions must purchase a copy of this book immediately.

The Peruvian clinician, Professor Moisés Lemlij, one of the leading lights of psychoanalysis in South America, has produced a book of interviews with three of the superstars of our profession: the late Professor Leo Rangell – a former President of both the American Psychoanalytic Association and, also, of the International Psycho-Analytical Association – and the still vibrant icons, Professor Arnold Richards of New York City and Professor Estela Valentina Welldon of London. Lemlij – a skilled psychoanalyst of long standing – created an environment in which each of these clinical titans could speak to him in a frank and often unfettered style, revealing not only a great deal about the brilliance of our field but, also, about its shadow side. For those who might share my passion for the history of psychoanalysis, this book contains innumerable compelling anecdotes about our forefathers and foremothers which cannot be obtained elsewhere. The interviews also reveal much about the ways in which psychotherapists and psychoanalysts often treat one another with primitive cruelty and institutional backstabbing. Lemlij quizzed Rangell, Richards, and Welldon at length about their careers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, each discussed his or her work with patients in a very straightforward manner, but, by contrast, these senior clinicians all complained about some of the uglier organisational dynamics which have, at times, come to characterise this field, not least, the regrettable splitting into sub-divisions, whether Freudian, Kleinian, Winnicottian, and so forth.  During his interview with Richards, the editor and interviewer, Lemlij, shared a provocative riddle: “Do you know the story about the difference between the Kleinians and Freudians?  In a Freudian analysis the analyst might die, and the patient will barely know and in a Kleinian analysis the patient might die, and the analyst won’t know.” This sort of “joke” certainly typifies some of the vitriolic in-fighting which still mars certain psychological institutions. Collegial gossip, however, represents only one part of this deeply absorbing book. We have much to learn from such “tribal elders”, each of whom has made tremendous contributions to our profession in numerous forms over decades and decades of sustained and inspiring labours.

Those of us steeped in a psychoanalytical accent often forget that literally hundreds of thousands of psychotherapists all over the world conduct important, compassionate, ethical work with clients on an hourly basis, without having to make transference interpretations.  In recent decades, humanistic-integrative psychotherapy has come to occupy an increasingly important position within the United Kingdom and beyond.  The Regent’s School of Psychotherapy and Psychology at Regent’s University London has, over many decades, occupied an important place as a leader in the teaching of psychotherapy integration, providing its trainees with exposure to classical psychoanalysis, humanistic psychotherapy, existential analysis, and much more besides. Dr Maria Luca, Dr Claire Marshall, and Professor John Nuttall, three experienced educators, have joined forces to produce what may well be the best guidebook to the open-mindedness of integrative psychotherapy.  In a series of singly-authored chapters, which draw extensively upon both clinical practice and empirical research, the authors have created what I suspect may well become the standard textbook.  This tome will be indispensable reading for integrative mental health workers but, also, will help to bring some refreshment and modesty to those ensconced in much more monastic psychotherapeutic thinking.

Trained initially as a clinical psychologist, Barry Richards became one of the pioneers of psychoanalytical studies in British universities, having taught for many years at the University of East London, prior to assuming his chair at Bournemouth University. A much respected and admired leader in the field of psychosocial studies, Professor Richards, who has written or edited many important texts on the application of psychodynamic thinking to the study of political behaviour, has now provided us with yet another treat.  His latest work, The Psychology of Politics, part of the engaging book series on “The Psychology of Everything”, offers us a wonderful guide to the complicated landscape of mentally troubled and burdened world leaders and nations.  As a Professor of Political Psychology – one of the few scholars to hold such a crucial post – Richards imparts his extensive knowledge and his deep thinking with readers in a most generous and insightful fashion.  For anyone who craves a richer understanding of the primitivity of contemporary political calamities, Richards’s elegant and readable engagement with the best of psychoanalysis provides exactly the right key to the mysteries of global events. I only wish that we could provide copies of this guidebook to every practising politician and voter.

Back in 2016, the accomplished storyteller William Rose published a gripping and moving book, The Strange Case of Madeleine Seguin: A Novel, which, in view of its engagement with the work of Jean-Martin Charcot and late-nineteenth-century French medicine – precursors to Freudian psychoanalysis – became of great interest to many practising mental health professionals.  Several of my patients had, in fact, also found their way to this engaging tome through their own bibliophilic researches and all had spoken of it most highly. Three years later, the publisher Sphinx – an imprint of Aeon Books – has released another William Rose classic, Camille and the Raising of Eros, launched at Waterstones not long ago.  For those who wish to take a break from reading heavy tomes about countertransference, the art of interpretation, and long-term, empirical follow-up studies of the efficacy of psychotherapy, this superbly crafted piece of historical fiction will provide great respite and pleasure.

For decades, I have urged my students to immerse themselves in the copious literature about the history of psychiatry. Many consider such a geekish, librarian-ish approach to learning rather irrelevant, but I always remind my trainees that if we had practised one hundred and fifty years previously, each of us would have subscribed to the “gold standard” methods of the time and would have chained our patients to the walls of lunatic asylums and might well have arranged for attendants to beat them mercilessly.  In other words, unless we can begin to assess and reassess our work in an historical context, we run the risk of becoming too smug, assuming that we, today, know the best way to treat psychological distress. History provides us with some much-needed humility. Thankfully, Dr Steven Taylor, a medical historian whose previous book, Child Insanity in England, 1845-1907, impressed me hugely, and Dr Alice Brumby, a fellow historian specialising in the psychological impact of the Great War, have edited a wonderfully rich book of essays written by some truly accomplished psychiatric scholars. For those who wish to learn more about how our ancestors treated patients during the last century, this collection serves as a sobering reminder of our complicated past.