ABSTRACT

Intimacy: Clinical, Cultural, Digital and Developmental Perspectives applies a contemporary, psychoanalytic lens to the many facets of intimacy between people, from romantic and sexual relationships, to friendliness, as well as the ways intimacy is mediated by new digital technologies.

Identifying commonalities and differences between a range of approaches, including Classical Freudian, attachment theory, and interpersonal theory, the book includes case studies that highlight how intimacy is framed in a variety of relationships. It examines the line between privacy and intimacy, as well as how intimacy changes at different stages of one’s lifespan.

From the friends we have to the pets we own, or the faith we follow, a cross-cultural perspective ensures that intimacy is conceived of as a broad, essential element underlying all human relationships. The intimacy between analyst and analysand is also examined.

This far-reaching book will interest both practicing and training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, as well as those in related disciplines.

chapter |1 pages

Introduction

part |28 pages

Prologue

chapter 1|26 pages

The concept of intimacy

An introductory overview

part |124 pages

The spectrum of intimacy

part |12 pages

Epilogue

chapter 10|34 pages

The many shapes of intimacy