Susie Orbach
How did the Flemish master’s pink, plump women become offensive to modern eyes? Blame Twiggy
The Daily Telegraph September 23rd 2023
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/how-rubenesque-became-a-dirty-word
Categories
Category: Publications
Susie Orbach interviewed by Hephzibah Anderson
The psychotherapist on body hatred, what’s changed since she wrote Fat Is a Feminist Issue – and the smell of her clients
Guardian 10th February 2023
The likes of Andrew Tate want to return to an imagined idyll in gender relations. It would be a disaster for everyone.
Can we think a bit more deeply about masculinity? Toxic masculinity has a certain usefulness and punch as a phrase. It expresses what some men put out into the world but it doesn’t address the whys deeply enough.
Continue reading here
Beyond the superficial row, there is a debate to be had about progress, pitfalls, and a character who seems emblematic of her generation
Full article in the Guardian at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/24/tar-film-cate-blanchett-controversy-feminism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Categories
Professor Brett Kahr
on
“New Books in Psychoanalysis”
To mark the publication of Professor Brett Kahr’s newest book, Freud’s Pandemics: Surviving Global War, Spanish Flu, and the Nazis, the Swiss psychiatrist Dr. med. Sebastian Thrul has conducted a full interview with Kahr, which offers insights into how Sigmund Freud handled the multiple pandemics of his own lifetime and how he would have advised our governments and our health care specialists had he been alive today during the twenty-first century.
This podcast is Kahr’s third appearance on “New Books in Psychoanalysis”. The New Books Network had previously interviewed him about two of his other publications, namely, How to Flourish as a Psychotherapist and, also, Bombs in the Consulting Room: Surviving Psychological Shrapnel.
The New Books Network has recognised that Kahr’s latest title will be of interest not only to members of the psychoanalysis community but, also, to those from other disciplines; consequently, the podcast has been posted not only on “New Books in Psychoanalysis” but, also, on “New Books in Biography”, “New Books in German Studies”, “New Books in History”, “New Books in Intellectual History”, and “New Books in Jewish Studies”.
Kahr’s book is the inaugural title in the new “Freud Museum London Series”, published by Karnac Books of London (an imprint of Confer Limited), in association with Freud Museum London.
To listen to the podcast, please click on either of the following links:
Categories
Susie Orbach
Recent article and book reviews
The Observer:
Working from home: how it changed us forever – Relationships The Observer 23 January 2022
Book chapter:
Eco Revenge in This Book is a Plant – How to Grow, Learn and Radically Engage with the Natural World, Wellcome Collection, Profile Books 2022
https://web.archive.org/web/20230602004644if_/https://profilebooks.com/work/this-book-is-a-plant/embed/#?secret=x1jcSQgDRw#?secret=NEzQquViO7
Book reviews:
Susie Orbach review of How to Do Things With Emotions: The Morality of Anger and Shame Across Cultures by Owen Flanagan – Don’t shout, let it all out The Observer, 9/1/22
Susie Orbach review of Something Out of Place by Eimear McBride – a satisfying feminist polemics The Guardian, August 2021
Categories
Professor Brett Kahr
NEW BOOK BY PROFESSOR BRETT KAHR.
FREUD’S PANDEMICS:
SURVIVING GLOBAL WAR, SPANISH FLU,
AND THE NAZIS.
In this compelling book, the first in the new “Freud Museum London Series”, Professor Brett Kahr describes how Sigmund Freud endured innumerable emotional pandemics during his eighty-three years of life, ranging from unsubstantiated accusations by medical colleagues to anti-Semitic abuse, the loss of one daughter to Spanish flu and the arrest of another child by the Gestapo, to his own painful cancer treatments and his final flight from Adolf Hitler’s Austria. Freud navigated these personal and political tragedies while simultaneously creating a method of healing which has helped countless millions deal with unbearable trauma and distress.
Kahr argues that, by having created psychoanalysis, Freud not only saved himself from destruction but also provided the rest of the world with the means to achieve a form of psychological vaccination against emotional and mental distress.
The Freud Museum London and Karnac Books have joined forces to publish a new book series devoted to an examination of the life and work of Sigmund Freud alongside other significant figures in the history of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and depth psychology more broadly. The series will feature works of outstanding scholarship and readability, including biographical studies, institutional histories, and archival investigations. New editions of historical classics as well as translations of little-known works from the early history of psychoanalysis will also be considered for inclusion.
REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS.
“A vivid account of how Sigmund Freud coped with the great ‘pandemics’ of his time, from the Great War and Spanish Flu to cancer and the Nazis. By assessing how my great-grandfather might have addressed COVID-19 – the pandemic of our own times – Professor Kahr opens up a series of insights into the life of the man who championed the radical innovation of actually listening to people suffering from mental affliction. Meticulously researched, and written with real pace, this book is a timely reminder of the psychological roots of our response to national trauma.” – Lord Freud, great-grandson of Sigmund Freud and President of the Freud Museum London
“Never has there been a time when Freud was needed so badly. Post-pandemic blues would not have been new to Freud as Brett Kahr describes in his phenomenal book, which I feel was sent to save us from confusion and turmoil. A must read!” – Jane McAdam Freud, artist, and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud.
“Brett Kahr’s immersion in Freud – the gift that keeps on giving – will help us survive the trauma of pandemics in our own lives. Kahr draws insightful parallels from Freud’s own struggles and serves as a timely and fascinating reminder of the ubiquitous nature of pandemics and why suicide isn’t the answer.” – Professor the Baroness Hollins, Past President of the British Medical Association, Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Professor Emerita at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London.
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK.
Prologue: Fundraising for Freud
Introduction: “Wouldn’t it be better if we all killed ourselves?”
Chapter 1: The Fraudulent Jewish Pervert: Navigating Decades of Collegial Hatred
Chapter 2: The Great War and the Spanish Flu: An Imprisoned Son and a Dying Daughter
Chapter 3: From Compulsive Cigar-Smoking to Deadly Carcinoma: Freud’s Battle with Physical Pain
Chapter 4: Death Wishes and the Nazis: How Freud Escaped from Austria
Chapter 5: Freud’s Recipe for Creativity and Survival: The Writing Cure and the Role of Penetrativity
Conclusion: If Sigmund Freud Could Have Supervised Anthony Fauci
Acknowledgements
Scholarly Clarifications
Endnotes
References
Index
Publisher: Karnac Books
Published: September 2021
Format: Paperback
Pages: 300
Dimensions: 15.6 x 1.73 x 23.4 cm
DISCOUNTED PURCHASE OF THE BOOK.
Karnac Books Shop.
Freud Museum London Shop.
Freud’s Pandemics: Surviving Global War, Spanish Flu and Nazis – Brett Kahs
Categories
PUBLICATION OF DANGEROUS LUNATICS
y Professor Brett Kahr
Professor Brett Kahr published his fifteenth book earlier this year, entitled Dangerous Lunatics: Trauma, Criminality, and Forensic Psychotherapy (Confer Books, 2020; https://www.karnacbooks.com/product/dangerous-lunatics-trauma-criminality-and-forensic-psychotherapy/95053/).
One of the inaugural titles released by the new psychotherapeutic press Confer Books – Publishers of the Mind – this book examines the nature of criminality across the centuries.
Drawing upon his interest and training in both psychoanalysis and history, Kahr examines the ways in which our ancestors have treated criminal offenders from ancient times until the present day, exploring the growing humanisation of forensic mental health.
In olden times, criminals would be tortured and executed; fortunately, nowadays, many countries have adopted a more compassionate approach to treatment and rehabilitation, facilitated by the developments in the fields of forensic psychotherapy and forensic psychoanalysis, which offer in-depth, ongoing treatment, in an effort to help offender patients to work through the traumata which have propelled them to commit violent crimes.
This book reached the Number One spot on the Karnac Books best-sellers list shortly after its release.
Herewith we include the Table of Contents for interested parties, as well as kindly endorsements from two of the United Kingdom’s leading forensic psychoanalytical specialists:
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Introduction.
The Man Who Shot His Mother and Father in the Face.
Chapter One.
Torture and Execution: Ancient Remedies for Perpetrators.
Chapter Two.
The Medicalisation of Insanity: Hereditary Taint and the Criminal Brain.
Chapter Three.
The Freudian Challenge: Towards a Humanisation of Offenders.
Chapter Four.
The Growth of Forensic Psychotherapy: From Punishment to Treatment.
Chapter Five.
Paedophilia: The Sexualisation of Trauma.
Chapter Six.
Murder: The Castration of Safety.
Conclusion.
Blue-Sky Thinking: The Future of Forensic Mental Health.
ENDORSEMENTS.
“Only Brett Kahr could produce such a masterpiece as Dangerous Lunatics. Written in a stunning literary style, Kahr’s book combines his unique expertise as a clinician and as an historian to tell this vital tale about how we have treated criminals throughout the ages and how we might do much, much better in the future!”
Professor Estela V. Welldon, Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, Portman Clinic, London, and Honorary President for Life of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.
“What a magnificent book! A carefully researched ‘tour de force’, encompassing a history of criminality and madness through exquisitely described stories. It offers hope that one day we might actually rehumanise the dehumanised, making the world a safer place for all.”
Dr. Carine Minne, Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy, Portman Clinic and Broadmoor Hospital.
Rather than counting calories and stigmatising fat, we need to take on the food and weight-loss industries
‘Children’s early relationships with eating are integral to the patterns they later develop as adults.’
Published onTue 28 Jul 2020 10.00 BST The Guardian
Being overweight has never just been about the amount of calories you consume. The government’s new obesity strategy, which includes mandating calorie displays on menus, banning junk food adverts before 9pm, offering Weight Watchers discounts and ending discount deals on “unhealthy” foods, reflects the widely held misconception that weight loss can be achieved by restricting calories and fat. The reality is that tackling obesity requires a far greater rethink of our fraught relationship with eating – starting with the food and diet industry.
From keto to paleo, superfoods to juice cleanses, clean eating and raw diets, we’ve been confronted with a dizzying array of dieting advice in recent years. But, as with the widespread belief that calorie intake is directly proportional to weight gain, most of this information is completely useless. Indeed, the rate of recidivism with all diets is an estimated 97%. That figure should give the government pause for thought. Of every 100 people who diet, an estimated three will manage to keep the weight off in the long term. Why is the government ignoring this evidence?
Rather than mandating calorie labelling, the government should be worrying about what goes into many processed foods and ready meals. Mucking around with food has unintended consequences. The extra ingredients and chemical enhancers that make food tastier have none of the nutritional value found in normal food groups. These additives are directed at “bliss points”, the manufacturing name given to the amount of sugar, salt and fat that optimises flavour in a product. Nutrient low and additive rich, these foods encourage us to override our natural sense of when we’re full, manipulating our appetites and leading us to eat more.Advertisement
In the 1980s, when low-fat products and desserts flavoured with sugarand artificial sweeteners first entered the market, they were deemed healthier than their full-fat alternatives. But what first appeared helpful caused confusion: evidence showed that the body didn’t metabolise these products in the same way as full-fat alternatives, and people who consumed low-fat foods were likely to replace the lost fat with calories from carbohydrates.
People trying to lose weight for aesthetic reasons found that by restricting their calorie consumption with low-fat alternatives, they were interfering with their body’s delicate “set point”, the weight range that our bodies are genetically and biologically predisposed to maintain. And some have found that continual calorie restriction can paradoxically lower your metabolic “thermostat”, meaning your body works harder to decrease the rate at which you burn calories. Restricting the number of calories you consume often means the pounds go on, not off.
Preventing obesity and encouraging the population to be healthier will require far more than banning two-for-one offers on sugary snacks or junk food adverts before 9pm. We’ll need to completely overhaul our troubled relationship with eating. Talk of “good” and “bad” foods has contributed to an obsession with size and weight loss. The food industry has stoked these anxieties, stigmatising fat and calories while selling us low-fat alternatives without the same nutritional value. It’s no surprise that disordered eating is rampant. What’s needed is a more holistic approach to food, where people are encouraged to eat food groups in balance and nutritious food is available to everyone.‘Eat Out to Help Out’ risks undermining obesity campaign, say expertsRead more
Food is the medium of our first relationship. As we are welcomed into the world, we are held, cuddled and fed. We first associate food with safety and love. Babies turn their heads away from their mother’s breast or bottle when they’ve consumed enough. They show when they’re next hungry. With luck, their physical prompts are met with food, creating the feeling of bodily security. Children’s early relationships with eating are integral to the patterns they later develop as adults. At school, talk of food and fat can imbibe confusion about eating, while stories of nurseries banning birthday cakes sends a message that some foods are dangerous.Now, the pressures of social media, with children posing for selfies and plastic surgery apps targeting young girls, have amplified anxieties about size and appearance and distorted people’s eating patterns and relationships with food.
We should be encouraging people to be healthy and fit. But a better and more viable place to start would be to help people understand what food means to them, both individually and culturally. We need messaging that encourages people to eat when they are hungry and to savour every mouthful so they can stop when they are full. We should stop stigmatising fat and calories, and encourage people to recognise that their body has a naturally predisposed weight. Understanding what we’re wanting and feeling if we’re drawn to eating when we aren’t physically hungry is the key to eating happily. We know this approach works considerably better and more permanently than dieting, enabling people to stay healthier over the longer term, but it gets little airtime compared with dieting fixes.
Eating sustainably for our bodies, our emotions and the planet requires serious political will. It begins by taking on the huge food and diet industries and curbing the production of foods that that are designed to override our body’s needs and signals. Only then can our relationship with food become a healthier one.
- Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social critic