“ Psychoanalytic ideas deserve to have continuous days in the sun.”
Anna Fishzon, PhD, LP and Tracy D. Morgan, LCSW-R, M.Phil.
New York
Episode Description:
Harvey Schwartz welcomes Tracy Morgan and Anna Fishzon. Tracy Morgan is a psychoanalyst in private practice in NYC and works with individuals, couples and groups. She is the founder, editor and host of the award winning podcast New Books in Psychoanalysis and serves on the faculty of the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. Anna Fishzon is a licensed psychoanalyst. She practices in New York and is an advanced candidate at the Institute of Psychoanalytic Training and Research. For ten years she taught interdisciplinary courses on a broad range of topics, including Russian History, Psychoanalysis, literature and gender and sexuality at Williams College, Columbia University and Duke University. She is the author of Fandom,Authenticity,and Opera: Mad Acts and Letter Scenes in Fin-de-Siècle Russia. Anna is co editing The Queerness of Childhood: Essays from the Other Side of the Looking Glass. She is the co-host of the podcast New Books in Psychoanalysis and co editor of The Candidate Journal, Psychoanalytic Currents.
As you will hear in today’s interview, these are two thoughtful analysts who are intrigued by the subject of analysis, each from somewhat different perspectives. They deeply engage the authors that they interview on the podcast New Books in Psychoanalysis.
Key Takeaways:
[4:45] Letting the community know what analysts do.
[5:18] How New Books in Psychoanalysis communicates with the community.
[10:03] Becoming more clinically focused.
[11:04] The theory vs the application.
[13:15] Psychoanalytic theory as a teaching of how to live.
[13:50] Listening with respect.
[14:55] How being an analyst impacts the work of interviewing authors.
[18:43] Different versions of transference.
[19:33] The mechanics of the podcast
[20:52] How Tracy and Anna would like to see the podcast grow in the near future
[23:27] Harvey’s opinion about the practical and theoretical balance in New Books in Psychoanalysis podcast.
[25:02] Practicing psychoanalysis in isolated areas.
[26:44] Tracy and Anna talk about their background that led them into psychoanalysis.
Recommended Readings:
https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/science-technology/psychoanalysis/
Very nice write-up. I absolutely love this site. Keep writing!
Dear Colleagues,
Its a pleasure to be able to leave a comment here in a form of feedback. As I can see that your respected guests are interested in new literature on psychoanalysis,as well as in its international (global) reach.
I am sure you will be pleased to find out that someone all away from Russia is actively listening to your wonderful podcasts. In fact, we are listening and really enjoying your podcast, we find it useful as it helps us to understand what is ‘the average temperature of the theory/practice/society/therapist relationship around the globe’.
However, I personally share the position of the host and enjoy it the most when guests not only chat about the vague empirical studies findings, but when they provide concrete examples of “pur et dur” psychoanalytic intervention, and explain how they understand what they are doing has an impact on people’s psyche and how they are able to measure this impact.
We, Russian analysts, have our own unique (an “East Europinion”) understanding of what psychoanalytic theory of the unconscious is. For decades we have been working in isolation from the rest of the world applying our own findings and know-how in the field of practical psychoanalysis, clinical work and supervision. We even tried to understand: “How many instincts does a person have? How many Affects/Motivations/Feelings? What is the meaning of sounds? Colors? How can a professional psychoanalyst “penetrate” and leave a long lasting healing impact on the unconscious of his patient? What means suggestion in our work? What are akrasia and kairos?. And how may it be possible to share these “tons” of information with the International Community?
The good news is that now it becomes possible indeed. And I am going to tell you why…
Of corse your are aware that Dr.Freud analysed only one Russian patient in his life. The historical case is known as “The Wolf-Man case”. Actually, most of you know, that Dr.Freud paid his Russian patient for the continuation of the analysis…(after the Russian patient became bankrupt following the Russian revolution). However, as Freud admitted himself, he was never able to cure this Russian patient. Why? Well, because Russians are too complicated? Or Russian soul is too “obscure”?
Well, 100 years later, there was another attempt to cure a Russian patient, but this time by a Russian psychoanalyst and I have to spoil it for you, this time it’s successful. If you are interested in learning how to decipher, demystify, uncover the peculiarities of the Russian soul, you can find all the answers in the brand new EXCEPTIONAL book – “Memoirs of a psychoanalyst. Homo-Cynicus” by Alexander Saez (Записки психоаналитика. Человек – циник. Автор Александр Заецъ). A book written in the form of dialogues between the real but anonymous analyst and patient, the goal of it is to reveal the features of the Russian soul and answer the question: “Why Russian soul is different to other souls?” And, why, for the time being, only Russian psychoanalysts can have access to it and (may also very much be) to the Universal Soul of all people.
The book is only available in Russian right now and can be bought here:
https://book24.ru/product/zapiski-psikhoanalitika-chelovek-tsinik-psikhoanaliticheskiy-roman-v-pyati-chastyakh-s-prilozheniyam-5855853/
Hoping for constructive dialogue and criticism,
With best wishes,
Maria Ushakova
Existential Psychoanalyst
http://www.mushakova.com
Dear Rita,
We will be happy to have you join our over 25,000 listeners each month—so you will be part of a large and international crew . All the back episodes are available as well. Wonderful for teaching. Wonderful for vacuuming the house or doing time on the elliptical at the gym! Not sure where you are from but we are always looking for people connected to institutes where we might not have inroads to bring our existence to their attention as well. Let me know if I can be of help in that way. Warmly, Tracy
This podcast was lively, informative and interesting. I liked the interplay of ideas between Harvey and the guests Anna and Tracy. I will now make it a point to also listen to their podcast.