Psychoanalysis in China - Paperback

by David E. Scharff (Editor), Sverre Varvin (Editor)

The introduction of psychoanalysis to China over the last twenty years brings a clash between Eastern and Western philosophical backgrounds. Chinese patients, therapists, and trainees struggle with assumptions inherent in an analytic attitude steeped in Western ideas of individualism that are often at odds with a Chinese Confucian ethic of respect for the family and the work group. The situation is further complicated by the rapid evolution of Chinese culture itself, emerging from years of trauma, new economics, and the one-child policy of the last generation that has introduced a new Chinese brand of individualism and new family structure that are not equivalent to those of the West. This volume breaks new ground in exploring these issues and challenges to the introduction of analytic therapies into China, not only from the viewpoint of Western teachers, but also from Chinese teachers, clinicians, anthropologists, and observers.

Author Biography

David E. Scharff, MD, editor-in-chief, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in China; co-founder, former Director, and Chair of the Board, The International Psychotherapy Institute; Chair, the International Psychoanalytical Association's Committee on Family and Couple Psychoanalysis; Director, Continuous Training Program in Couple and Family Psychoanalytic Therapy, Beijing; author and editor of more than 30 books, including Psychoanalysis in China (with Sverre Varvin); Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy (with Jill Scharff); Enrique Pichon-Riviere: Pioneer of the Link (with Roberto Losso and Lea Setton); and Family and Couple Psychoanalysis: A Global Perspective (with Elizabeth Palacios).

Sverre Varvin, MD, DPhil. Training and supervising analyst, Norwegian Psychoanalytic Society. Professor, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (OAUC), Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, University of Oslo. Research areas: trauma and treatment of traumatised patients, treatment process, traumatic dreams, and psychoanalytic training. Chair, IPA China Committee. Has worked for more than twelve years in China with psychotherapy and psychoanalytic training programmes.