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Over the past decade, David E. Scharff has collaborated extensively with psychoanalytically minded colleagues and students in China as part of his investigation into the nature of intimate relationships and family dynamics in a country with such a different cultural and historical context from the Western world. His comprehensive and invaluable text, a welcome addition to the Library of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis, is the result of this collaboration. It opens a window into the lives of couples and families in China as they look to the future whilst in the grip of past traumas.
The developmental challenges arising from this often-traumatic past account for a range of behaviours outlined in Scharff's case studies, in which psychiatric and biological explanations feel more culturally acceptable than psychoanalytic enquiry. Furthermore, at the heart of the therapeutic endeavour as described is a fundamental tension between the West's celebration of individuation and individual autonomy and the Chinese ethic of promoting the interests of the group, although this seems also to be shifting as the rapidly changing culture in China moves away from its traditional moorings. Nevertheless, Scharff acknowledges that Chinese therapists may be conflicted with Western psychoanalytic thought that promotes individuation, self-actualisation, sexual independence, and freedom from the constraints of the family, long considered “the backbone of Chinese morality”. That notwithstanding, there is much interest from psychotherapists within China to further develop their knowledge and skills in psychoanalytic work with couples and families.
The book aims to address four questions. How does the history of Chinese culture influence the intimacy of family today? How do social factors influence developments inside the family, and how will these family developments, in a reciprocal way, influence social change in China as a nation? How do the current challenges facing young families and couple