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In recent years, contemporary psychoanalysis has shifted from focusing primarily on the intrapsychic to emphasizing the intersubjective domain. While this transition remains significant, contemporary psychoanalysis is now marked by a pivotal evolution from binary to nonbinary, and epistemological to ontological (Ogden, 2019) modes of thinking. It is rare to find an author like Levine who naturally embodies this paradoxical way of thinking. Pluralistic thinking and an existentialist perspective form the cornerstone of Levine's approach in her book Risking Intimacy and Creative Transformation in Psychoanalysis.
A central theme in Levine's work is the influence of trauma and creativity on the challenge of forming a coherent personal narrative. By developing a space for openness, permeability, and honesty from both patient and therapist, Levine explores how a close psychoanalytic process can help patients recover their memories, enhance their creative agency, and take control of narrating their own life stories. Levine's case studies are notable for their lack of neatly resolved endings. Instead, she presents her doubts, using them as tools for authentic writing and deeper therapeutic engagement, which provides the elements needed for a new perspective on the past and a reimagining of the future.
Explicitly addressing complex topics is challenging for the therapist; however, silence can render the therapist a silent witness. Levine tackles the pervasive issue of racism, viewing it as a form of extreme dissociation that erases the rights and recognition of others. She emphasizes the therapist's responsibility to address and acknowledge race within the
Marie Saba Veile, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Choquehuanca 1495, Apt. 502, Lima, 15073, Peru
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therapeutic space and milieu, advocating for an approach that considers the broader societal and cultural contexts impacting the analytic couple.
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