Ana-María Rizzuto and the Psychoanalysis of Religion

The Road to the Living God

Commentaries by Ana María Rizzuto Contributions by John McDargh, Mario Aletti, Arne Austad, Leif Gunnar Engedal, Anthony Stern, Jacob Waldenmaier, Gry Stålsett Edited by Martha J. Reineke, David M. Goodman

Publication date:

24 August 2017

Length of book:

228 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

239x158mm
6x9"

Ana-María Rizzuto’s groundbreaking explorations of the formation of God representations in early childhood and their elaboration throughout the life cycle have made their mark, enriching the practice of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, as well as scholarship within the psychoanalytic study of religion. Accompanied by illuminating commentaries by Rizzuto, the authors of this edited collectione essays in this volume underscore Rizzuto’s most important contribution to clinical practice: rather than assert that psychoanalysis is incompatible with religious beliefs and practices or with spiritual concerns that patients may bring to a therapeutic context, Rizzuto makes room for the coexistence of psychoanalysis and religion in the therapeutic setting. Demonstrating how Rizzuto’s work has enhanced connections within and among psychoanalytic theories of religion, established pathways for new developments in psychotherapy, and facilitated interdisciplinary conversations, this volume showcases the compelling power of Rizzuto’s work and its ongoing influence.

Goodman (Boston College) and Reineke (Univ. of Northern Iowa) have assembled a fine collection of essays related to the pioneering work of psychoanalyst Ana-Maria Rizzuto, whose book The Birth of the Living God (1981) transformed the way psychoanalysis approached the topic of religion. The present collection of six essays is in many ways an homage to that book's empirical and clinical interrogation of how representations of God are elaborated over the life-span. Each essay explores a different facet of Rizzuto's contribution to the psychology of religion, considering such topics as atheism, the healing factor in psychotherapy, the therapeutic use of metaphor, and the maternal matrix. A discussion by Rizzuto follows each essay, lending the collection a fresh dialogic dimension. These essays will serve as the best commentary on Rizzuto's important work to date, and will provide clinicians and scholars with material for further speculation on the relationship between psychoanalysis and religion. The interdisciplinary nature of the collection will serve as a model for future scholarship in the fields of religious studies, psychology, and psychotherapy.

Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.