Is psychoanalysis a science? How do psychoanalysts think the mind works? Why was Freud so interested in sex?

Psychoanalysis, whether we realise it or not, has permeated Western culture.

It is a key part of understanding our emotional lives, and its inventor Sigmund Freud is still an iconic figure. Yet little is generally known about different theories of psychoanalysis.

Introducing Psychoanalysis edresses this balance. Ivan Ward and Oscar Zarate bring this notoriously opaque subject alive, outlining what psychoanalysts do and the theory behind it, and explaining terms like Ego, Id, Unconscious, Object Relations, Attachment and more.

One of the few books to connect psychoanalysis to everyday life, it is ideal reading for anyone fascinated by this most famous ‘talking cure’.