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Green. Blue. Red. Yellow. Orange. Colors that previously may have brought to mind a rainbow, or street signs and lights, or the “Roy G Biv” acronym taught to children. Instead, as of 2002, the Homeland Security Advisory System has created a different mental space for these colors to occupy. The world we live in has also changed. Terrorism, as described in Terrorism and the Psychoanalytic Space: International Perspectives From Ground Zero, is a tactic that has altered international reality in a pervasive and violent fashion. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 caused many US mental healthcare providers to feel the effects of this altered reality closer to home than they had previously. The Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR) Society developed ideas for how to best serve those most affected in the surrounding community. However, in a world filled with dust, debris, lost persons, and desperation, “… many of us needed to develop skills in working with the victims of the attacks and that as a psychoanalytic society we needed to coordinate our efforts to help the community in this crisis.” Joseph Cancelmo and Isaac Tylim, leaders at the IPTAR Clinical Center and Society, respectively, worked toward creating an event that could help with both of these needs. On May 3-4, 2002, they led a conference (from which the title and material for this book was derived) that aimed to “help other mental health professionals expand their clinical possibilities as we continue to respond to the changing needs of our community.”
This book certainly represents an excellent resource for exactly that. Although a collection of papers and discussions, it reads with remarkable flow and purpose. It is divided into four parts. First, a brief section address changes in the “Psychoanalytic Space.” Without this beginning, much of what followed would have been difficult to understand. This section introduces the reader to the idea of the psychoanalytic space and further expan