New Ways in Psychoanalysis [Paperback]

Horney was one of the earliest pioneers to repudiate the theoretical framework of Freud, and work within the framework of feminist and cultural understanding. This book is the first rejection of the Freudian view. Horney's theory evolved throughout her life from the early works like this and "The Neurotic Personality of Our Time" and "Our Inner Conflicts" to the final book,"Neurosis and Human Growth." Personally I find that Horney's theory is extremely valuable to understand our inner wrestlings, and to treat patients in a empathic way. I find the theory more eloquently and more comprehensively presented in her final book. So although this is an interesting analysis of the origins of her thinking, it is more designed for examining the development rather than the final product of her genius.

It's books like this one that show the folly of regarding psychoanalysis as discredited, and of shifting instead toward seeking relief of superficial symptoms like depression and anxiety as the whole goal of psychiatry. In this book, Horney meticulously separates the baby and the bathwater. She describes what's wrong with each element of Freud's theory while showing in her characteristic lucid style what can be gained by deep analysis of an individual's mind. In making this separation, Horney redeems psychoanalysis.

I actually ended up with greater respect for Freud after reading this book. Horney begins each chapter by describing in detail Freud's concepts (e.g. Oedipus complex, death instinct, superego) and how he arrived at them. She does this so well that in some cases I found myself asking "That makes sense, what's wrong with that?" before then reading her objections. She is very fair to Freud and clearly respects him as the founder of her discipline, but just as adamantly stakes her own position and her differences with Freud and is not afraid to call him out where he's full of it.

To give one example, there is Horney's objection to Freud's explanation of what is the basic core of psychiatric problems. In Freud's view, they are caused by the conflict between our basic instincts that govern our lives, and the "ego" which is but a cluster of certain of those instincts. She shows some problems with this theory, not just academically but practically (that is, how they can negatively impact therapy), and proposes her own explanation of the patient's problems. In Horney's view they are caused by intense fears stemming from adverse childhood experience. As the person grows up, most of their energy is put into avoiding danger rather than seeking satisfaction. This impairs their relationships with people because they go into them seeing the people as potentially hostile, and the inevitable problems that result from this compulsive defensiveness only validate the person's fears leading them to create even more defenses which cause even more problems, eventually exploding in the acute symptoms that people check in to a psychiatrist's office for.

I didn't do Freud enough justice there, but I'm trying to keep the review short enough to be readable and I'd rather focus on Horney's thought since that's the real merit of the book.

For those familiar with Horney, this book's format is a bit different from that of her other books. In her other books, it's entirely about her own theories. This is one of her earlier books, and it seems she, educated a Freudian, felt the need to make a point-by-point comparison between Freud's theories and how she herself has come to understand the human psyche. And she does an excellent job.

I'd recommend this book to:

1.) Someone who thinks psychoanalysis is nonsense because they heard a caricature of Freud's theories and decided he was "full of it".
2.) A fan of Horney, who wants to read more of what she had to offer as well as see the evolution of her thought.
3.) ANYBODY who wants to understand themselves better, especially if they have ever had any psychiatric issues or even just a lot of social anxiety or something.

The third point is probably more true of Horney's other works (such as "Our Inner Conflicts" and "Neurosis and Human Growth") but applies well enough here. There's a bit more jargon in this book than in her other works, which seems unavoidable since she has to dissect the core theories of psychoanalysis. But she does a great job explaning any fancy terms she uses and keeping her writing as lucid as possible. She had a real gift for that.

That's about all I have to say. Just for fun, here's a sample paragraph from the book:

"Taking again as an example the need to appear perfect, I would be interested primarily in understanding what this trend accomplishes for the individual (eliminating conflicts with others and making him feel superior to others), and also what consequences the trend has on his character and his life. The latter investigation would make it possible to understand, for example, how such a person anxiously conforms with expectations and standards to the extent of becoming a mere automaton, and yet subversively defies them; how this double play results in listlessness and inertia; how he is proud of his apparent independence, yet actually is entirely dependent on the expectations and opinions of others; how he is terrified lest anyone should discover the flimsiness of his moral strivings and the duplicity which has pervaded his life; how this in turn has made him seclusive and hypersensitive to criticism."

OUCH, Karen. Get out of my nutshell!

Not your nutshell? She has more!

Excellent book. Read it.