The Electrified Mind: Development, Psychopathology, and Treatment in the Era of Cell Phones and the Internet

by Salman Akhtar (Editor), Monisha C. Akhtar (Contribution by), Jerome Blackman (Contribution by), Joanne Cantor (Contribution by), Frederick Fisher (Contribution by), Lana Fishkin (Contribution by), Ralph Fishkin (Contribution by), John Frank (Contribution by), Patricia L. Gibbs (Contribution by), Christine C. Kieffer (Contribution by), Kavita I. Nayar (Contribution by), Ann Smolen Ph.D (Contribution by), Ann Smolen (Contribution by)

Overview

The Electrified Mind helps therapists understand and empathize with patients who rely heavily upon cell phones and the internet for the purposes of self-expression as well as for defensive avoidance of actual interpersonal contact. The chapters by distinguished mental health professionals delineate therapeutic strategies for dealing with the dilemmas that arise in working with children, adolescents, and adults excessively involved with cyberspace at the cost of meaningful human relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765708045
Publisher:	Aronson, Jason Inc.
Publication date:	01/27/2011
Series:	Margaret S. Mahler Series
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Salman Akhtar, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

1 The Cell Phone-Internet Lexicon: Overview and Implications Salman Akhtar Kavita I. Nayar 1

2 Minds on Media: Implications for Young People in the Internet Age Joanne Cantor 21

3 The Epidemic of Information: Pros and Cons John L. Frank 35

4 Cyberspace, Transitional Space, and Adolescent Development Christine C. Kieffer 43

5 Cyberplay: The Pros and Cons of a "Macrosphere" Monisha C. Akhtar 63

6 Reality in Cyberspace: Patients' Use of the Internet and Ordinary Everyday Psychosis Patricia L. Gibbs 89

7 Preoedipal Paradise in the World of the Web Frederick Fisher 89

8 The Electronic Couch: Some Observations about Skype Treatment Ralph Fishkin Lana Fishkin 99

9 Separation, Sex, Superego, and Skype Jerome S. Blackman 113

10 The Multiple Meanings of the Electrified Mind Ann G. Smolen 129

References 141

About the Editor and Contributors 153

Index 155

Editorial Reviews

This timely volume addresses the impact of modern information technology on the human mind. The incessant company and/or intrusion of cell-phones, the addictive reliance on the internet, and the emergent uses of Skype. It unmasks the positive and negative effects of communication technologies on personality development, interpersonal relations, and the conduct of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. The Electrified Mind is on the cutting edge not only of psychodynamic thinking but, more broadly, of our rapidly changing era. This book is informative, engaging, and well worth the read for all health care professionals, parents, teens, and persons interested in the interconnection between our brains, our minds, and our contemporary world.

Mary Kay O'Neil

Each day the rapid advance in electronics seems to bring with it another new technology which can capture and even monopolize the attention of our patients, our children, and ourselves. In The Electrified Mind Dr. Akhtar has assembled a fascinating collection of highly readable papers which examine the developmental, cultural, and therapeutic aspects of this ongoing transformation of the way all of us learn about and relate to each other and the world.

Paul W. Mosher