Psychobiography Reading Group of the Psychohistory Forum – 12th Meeting
Dedicated to HANNA SEGAL
March 1, 2025 (11:00am – 1pm EDT; room opens at 10:45 am)
This meeting is free to attend, but RSVP is required.
Please RSVP by using the Registration Form below
Born in Poland in 1918, Hanna Segal fled to Britain in 1939. There she completed her medical studies and undertook training and psychoanalytic analysis with Melanie Klein. Dr. Segal is considered the most prominent and lucid postwar interpreter of the work of Melanie Klein. Dr. Segal is the author of several books and numerous articles.
Over the last half century her writings have explored the nature of her own psychoanalytic experience and made important conceptual contributions, for instance regarding the nature of unconscious phantasy, the clinical relevance of the death instinct, and the psychic consequences of the capacity, or lack of capacity, to use symbols.
She has investigated the wider applications of psychoanalytic ideas in diverse fields, notably aesthetics, politics, and literature.
In describing the significance of her work, Segal said “the more I think about it, the importance lies in seeking truth. Not ‘The Trust’ with a capital T, an omniscience, but truth that is the same as reality. All we are really looking for, in a patient on the couch, is a distinction between lies and the trust.” But the people who came to see her were, she says, generally those who “seek to avoid truth, and so end up in delusion. What you are aiming to achieve is a change in the direction of the mind, a bend towards truth. And while all science aims at truth, psychoanalysis is unique in recognizing that the search for truth is, in itself, therapeutic.”
(from https://www.sigourneyaward.org/recipientlist/2019/4/28/hanna-segal-1992)
For this Psychobiography Reading Group session, we will read:
- Quinodoz, J.-M. (2008). Listening to Hanna Segal – Her Contributions to Psychoanalysis. Intro and Chapter 1. Routledge. (50 pp) [The full manuscript is available here: Full Manuscript]
- Bell, D. (Ed.) (1997). Reason and Passion – A Celebration of the work of Hanna Segal. Introductory Essay. Karnac. (20pp) [The full manuscript is available here: Full Manuscript]
- Segal, H. (1950). Some Aspects of the Analysis of a Schizophrenic. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 31, 268-278. (10pp)
- Segal, H. (1952). A Psycho-Analytical Approach to Aesthetics. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 33, 196-207. (9pp)
- Segal, H. (1954). A Note on Schizoid Mechanisms Underlying Phobia Formation. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 35, 238-241. (3pp)
- Segal, H. (1957). Notes on Symbol Formation. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 38, 391-397. (6pp)
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The Psychobiography Research and Publication Group of the Psychohistory Forum created the virtual Psychobiography Reading Group in 2023. We meet in alternate months, with a summer break, and we work hard to keep it as a serious psychoanalytic approach to psychobiography. Subsequently, our focus will be on classic works of psychodynamic psychobiography, with the bottom-up approach rather than the one coming from explicit underlying theories.
Please note that we choose short readings to ensure that they will be read ahead of time. Individuals who have not done the readings for this group will need to stay muted to establish this as a true discussion group.
Membership in the Psychohistory Forum is not required, although it is recommended, but your RSVP is required – see the form below.
You will get the response to your RSVP that includes the Zoom information. Zoom link reminder will also be sent out the day before the meeting.