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Freedom To Choose: Two Systems of Self-Regulation

freedom

     Jack Novick and Kerry Kelly Novick have been writing about a two-system model of development and treatment in various forms since the 1970’s. They have applied their ideas to multiple domains of psychoanalytic theory, concepts, and clinical technique, in papers, reviews, presentations and books.
     Now, in response to repeated requests from students and colleagues, they have gathered and distilled their ideas into one place. This book collects and integrates all their thinking to the present. Written in short, accessible sections, Part I traces open- and closed-system responses to the challenges of each stage of life from pregnancy to old age, while Part II tracks the phases of treatment, describing approaches and techniques, with the help of numerous clinical illustrations.
     They also include summaries of each of their papers, published and unpublished, which spring from or apply the two-system model, a list of psychoanalytic concepts made distinguishable by application of a two-system model, and a list of relevant references..
     Building on their experience of the past fifty years and more in myriad practice and teaching settings, the Novicks draw on multiple strands and developments in different psychoanalytic approaches, as well as knowledge from allied fields, to articulate an approach to development and treatment that is rich, complex, and practical.

“The Novicks’ innovative two-system model of development and treatment represents a major advance in psychoanalytic theory and technique. … Time and again I found myself immediately able to usefully apply what I had just read to my clinical work.” William M. Singletary, M.D., Child and Adult Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia

"A clearly written, practical guide that will help therapists and patients to reduce their dependence upon repetitive, dead-end patterns of feeling, behavior, and thought. The Novicks' approach expands the domain of psychoanalysis. It stands in stark contrast to the many currently popular approaches which focus on the description and elimination of symptoms, ignoring the human meanings which lie beneath them." Paul Brinich, Ph.D, Clinical Professor, Depts. Of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Past President, Association for Child Psychoanalysis

"The Novicks' model provides both a profoundly psychoanalytical understanding of human development and an innovative methodology for the treatment of children, adolescents and adults. Every chapter reflects a most sensitive approach, founded on a continuous collaboration and on the vital importance of maintaining or reestablishing the 'freedom to choose.'" Enrico DeVito, M.D., Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, Past President of ISAPP, and Past Director of Progetto A in Milan, Italy

"This book represents the culmination of fifty years of experience by two of the most creative thinkers in American psychoanalysis. It is going to become a staple for training psychoanalytic candidates and other mental health disciplines on how to think and work clinically in an integrative and clinically sensitive manner." Alan Sugarman, Ph.D, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst, San Diego Psychoanalytic Center, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego

Freedom to Choose has been translated into German and Spanish

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