Main description:

Psychodynamic theory and practice are often misunderstood as appropriate only for the worried well or for those whose problems are minimal or routine. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book shows how psychodynamically informed, clinically based social care is essential to working with individuals whose problems are both psychological and social. Each chapter addresses populations struggling with structural inequities, such as racism, classism, and discrimination based on immigrant status, language differences, disability, and sexual orientation. The authors explain how to provide psychodynamically informed assessment and practice when working with those suffering from mental illness, addiction, homelessness, and cognitive, visual, or auditory impairments, as well as people in prisons, in orphanages, and on child welfare. The volume supports the idea that becoming aware of ourselves helps us understand ourselves: a key approach for helping clients contain and name their feelings, deal with desire and conflict, achieve self-regulation and self-esteem, and alter attachment styles toward greater agency and empowerment.
Yet autonomy and empowerment are not birthrights; they are capacities that must be fostered under optimal clinical conditions. This collection uses concepts derived from drive theory, ego psychology, object relations, trauma theory, attachment theory, self psychology, relational theories, and intersubjectivity in clinical work with vulnerable and oppressed populations. Contributors are experienced practitioners whose work with vulnerable populations has enabled them to elicit and find common humanity with their clients. The authors consistently convey respect for the considerable strength and resilience of the populations with whom they work. Emphasizing both the inner and social structural lives of client and clinician and their interacting social identities, this anthology uniquely realizes the complexity of clinical practice with diverse populations.

Contents:

1. Why We Need a Biopsychosocial Perspective with Vulnerable, Oppressed, and At-Risk Clients, by Joan Berzoff, MSW, EdD 2. Making It Thinkable: A Psychodynamic Approach to the Psychosocial Problems of Prisons and Prisoners, by Elizabeth Kita, LCSW 3. "We're Cool, You and Me": A Relational Approach to Clinical Social Work in the City: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Within a Homeless Shelter for Formerly Incarcerated Women and Their Children, by Cara Segal, LICSW 4. If I Feel Judged By You, I Will Not Trust You: Relational Practice with Addicted Mothers, by Shirley Cohen Konrad, PhD, LCSW, and Jennifer Morton, DNP, MPH, RN 5. Making a Difference: Psychodynamic Views on Race and Racism, by Maria de Lourdes Mattei, PhD 6. Navigating the Perils of the Child Welfare System: Applying Attachment Theory in Child Protective Practice, by Gregory Bellow, MSW, PhD 7. Holding a Mother--Holding a Baby: Psychosocial Casework in a Clinic for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies, by William S. Meyer, MSW 8. Finding Common Ground: The Perils of Sameness and Difference in the Treatment of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, by Susanne Bennett, PhD, LICSW, and Charles Rizzuto, MSW, LICSW 9. Full of Feelings, Disabled, and Treatable: Working Psychodynamically with Special-Needs Adults, by Joan C. Dasteel, LCSW, PhD, PsyD, BCD 10. Seeing Through the Eyes of the Blind: Psychodynamically Informed Work with Persons with Low Vision, by Catherine Orzolek-Kronner, PhD, LCSW-C, and Joan DeSimone, MA, PhD 11. What Did You Say? Clinical Practice with Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Populations, by Carol B. Cohen, PhD, LCSW-C 12. Social Care with the Severely Mentally Ill: Psychodynamic Perspectives, by Joel Kanter, MSW, LCSW-C 13. The Return from War: Templates for Trauma and Resilience, by Jaine Darwin, PsyD, ABPP 14. Alien to This Country: Treatment Considerations with Immigrant Bilingual Patients, by Efrosini Kokaliari, PhD, LICSW 15. When a State Becomes a Parent: Orphanages in a Post-totalitarian Culture: Attachment Theory Perspective, by Galina Markova, PhD Conclusion, by Joan Berzoff, MSW, EdD Contributors Index