The Consulting Room and Beyond: Psychoanalytic Work and Its Reverberations in the Analyst's Life (Psychoanalysis in a New Key Book Series)
"Ragen's ability to seamlessly integrate the deeply felt rhythms of her internal life with those of her patients and the larger psychoanalytic community will resonate with seasoned and novice therapists, alike. Through the lens of nuance, detail and deep compassion within these three interconnected worlds, she offers a unique clarity of mind with which to confront core issues of knowledge, engagement and connection." - Lewis Aron, Director, NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, USA"In Therese Ragen'sThe Consulting Room and Beyond,literary non-fiction now includes a model of personal psychoanalytic writing of such mastery that I could easily retitle her book "Portrait of the Artist as Psychoanalyst." Through a series of gripping and evocative personal essays Ragen liberates the image of psychoanalytic treatment from its time-worn mythology of being an objective technique that holds special power to discern hidden truths inadvertently revealed by another’s unguarded speech. By lifting the veil from an analyst’s vulnerability to the unbidden but inevitable intrusiveness of her life history into the clinical relationship, Ragen’s blend of therapeutic sophistication, personal candor, and breathtaking writing illuminates the truth of what is most fundamental to being an effective psychotherapist – one's openness to being a human being." -Philip M. Bromberg, author,Standing in the Spaces: Essays on Clinical Process, Trauma, and DissociationandAwakening the Dreamer: Clinical Journeys"A work of generosity, sensitivity and intelligence. Therese Ragen provide a luminous window into a vibrant and mesmerizing world. Every page of The Consulting Room and Beyond speaks to the poignancy and beauty of being alive." -Carole Maso, Professor of Literary Arts, Brown University, USA