Psychoanalysis in Asia

The world is looking East. While in the West psychoanalysis is fighting to maintain its position among the other therapies in a society which has less time for introspection and self-reflective thought, in Asia a new frontier is opening up: there is a surge of interest for psychoanalysis among the mental health professionals and among the younger generations, interest which is articulated and nuanced differently in the different Asian countries. In Asia and particularly in India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China, the development of psychoanalysis reflects separate socio-political historical contexts, each with a rich cultural texture and fuelled by the interest of a new generation of mental health professionals for psychoanalysis as a therapeutic method. Psychoanalysis Encounters the Far-East is a collection of papers presented at the first IPA Psychoanalytic Conference in Asia on the occasion of the 100 Anniversary of the foundation of the IPA. They examine how psychoanalysis, developed and rooted in Western culture, finds more and more interest in Asian societies. This means a new challenge for psychoanalysis in the dialogue with Eastern cultures.