Ideas in Psychoanalysis: Sadomasochism [Paperback]

This is a really excellent book and deals very well with making pain and trauma based behaviour more explicable, I also think it deals between, less ambiguously, with the whole concept of perversion that the actual book on that topic in the series Perversion (Ideas in Psychoanalysis).

The chapters breakdown as follows:- 'The Loving Weekend on St. Valentines Day'; Sexual Sadism; Marquis de Sade; De Sade's 'Contribution' to Feminism; Sexual Masochism; Leopold von Sacher-Masoch; The Piano Teacher; Some Psychodynamics Behind The Scenes; S&M Club Scenes; Is Sadomasochism a Perversion?; Denial and Disaster in Sadomasochism; Similarities and Differences in Sadomasochism and Domestic Violence; Repition Compulsion and The Body as Torturer; Malignant Bonding; Mothers as Creators of Sadomasochism; Questions of Dangerousness; An Attempt to understand the 'Unthinkable'; Treatment Implications and there are the usual endnotes and list of sources for further reading.

This is much more definite an account than the companion piece on perversion, there is also a much more certain progression from one chapter to the other, even though I felt the (short) book only began to get good from "Some Psychodynamics Behind The Scenes" onward. The earlier chapters provide a sort of scene setting, the book concentrations on psycho-sexual definitions of sadomasochism (as opposed to some of the sociological or social psychological angles provided by Eric Fromm, although Fromm is quoted at one juncture), its origin in and transmission by families, particularly mothers.

There is a lot of interesting content on reinacting of (conscious or unconscious) trauma, denial and conscent, repition and compulsive behaviour and the author isnt afraid to engage with and knock down a lot of the "enjoy your symptom" style thinking, which I found refreshing and interesting. Examples from the authors practice as a therapist and notorious serial killers like Brady and Hindley, Fred and Rose West and a nurse responsible for the deaths of babies in her care illustrate the authors points. I was less sure about some of his points about the pervasiveness of sadistic or masochistic motives in all sexual relationships but this point isnt exactly laboured.

For a professional audience there is a lot of food for thought. I could see child protection social workers and their colleagues really benefiting from reading perspectives on perverse mothering contributing to serial abuse and chronic infantile neglect, suggesting that this can involve three generations in which faulty and inadequate mothering perpetuates itself with successive generations renewing the cycle. There are also good points for therapists, considering the merits of group therapy for perpetrators and victims of abuse (frequently the author indicates these can be one and the same people).

For the general reader its an easy read, there is not a lot of jargon or obscure references, the first couple of chapters up to "Some psychodynamics" are mainly in a way literary or philosophical (I dont consider the de Sade or Masoch to be on a par with Freud or analysts) and interesting.

The rest of the book isnt a difficult read, as I've said the book is one of the better in the series for its construction and style from start to finish. It does provide some great insights into people per se and their possible motives. In this respect it resembles Affect and emotion (Ideas in Psychoanalysis), both of which could be considered the best examples of the series.

so obviously written by someone who has no understanding of what Sadomasochism is and how it plays out in modern society. I imagine with Welldon's archaic attitude to Sadomasochism and Psychoanalysis that she also thinks that everyone is born heterosexual and 'turns' gay.