Common to many different kinds of crisis is a turning point, where old attitudes and behaviors must make way for change. It is at this moment, signaled by anxiety, even panic, that the creative leap is required.
Verena Kast, in her wonderful narrations of actual case histories, describes the typical psychic background of a crisis, as well as the developmental possibilities contained in them. One such case begins: "A young man, twenty­ eight years old, an analysand in therapy with me for some six months, called me around midnight to tell me he was about to kill himself. To my question "So what is it this time?" he responded at length. The phrase "this time" not only revealed my aggression in the face of a suicide threat, there was also a story behind it. Both the analysand and his wife had already made several suicide attempts. Both had used their suicide attempts to manipulate each other. Both were well informed about medications and knew how much one can take without causing irreparable damage. Since these scenes had repeated themselves with a certain regularity, it was difficult to keep the gravity of the situation in mind."
Brought to life in this book is an authentic note of hope to those who suffer and to those dedicated to helping them.
Dr. Verena Kast
is a training analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute of Zurich and professor at Zurich University. She lectures in Europe and the United States. Her other books include
The Nature of Loving: Patterns of Human Relationship
(Chiron),
A Time to Mourn
(Daimon), and
Joy, Inspiration, Hope, and the Process of Individuation
(Texas A&M University Press).