Brett Kahr

A distillation of painstaking research into the life of Donald Winnicott, tracing his life from his childhood in Plymouth, through his career in paediatrics, to his election as President of the British Psycho-Analytic Society. The author makes many interesting links between Winnicott's life and the development of his theories.

Curing Madness: The Selected Works of Brett Kahr presents papers, written between 1983 and 2025, spanning the course of Brett Kahr’s rich and varied career. Kahr presents a selection of his favourite papers, spanning several themes including clinical work, historical perspectives, couple work and public contributions. Each engaging and accessible chapter highlights an aspect of Kahr’s psychotherapeutic expertise, from the treatment of extreme psychopathology to the exploration of the traumatic origins of profound disability and schizophrenia, the history of psychiatry and his contributions as a pioneering media psychologist who has communicated to millions of Britons over many years. This book presents the most compelling publications of this experienced psychological practitioner, whose passion and commitment to enhancing the field of mental health will inspire future generations of clinicians. Curing Madness: The Selected Works of Brett Kahr will be of great interest to members of the mental health community including psychotherapists and psychoanalysts in practice and in training.

Karnac Books was founded on 24 March 1950 by Harry Karnac as a general interest bookshop at Gloucester Road, London SW7. Following strong sales of a D. W. Winnicott title, Harry Karnac began to increase his stock of mental health titles until they came to occupy the full floor of the shop’s basement. Word spread through the global mental health community and Karnac Books became the epicentre for English-language mental health publications, not only as a must-visit venue but also as a thriving mail-order business. Before long, Harry took the plunge into publishing alongside bookselling and the Karnac imprint was born. Since 1950, Karnac has changed hands several times and Brett Kahr has met, befriended, and interviewed every single owner from the eponymous Harry Karnac to the present day. His detailed knowledge as customer, author, and friend of Karnac makes him the perfect person to write this history, undertaken as a labour of love and published to celebrate Karnac’s seventy-fifth anniversary. The book begins with an amusing introduction on the welcome affliction of Karnacitis, swiftly followed by a comprehensive history of early psychoanalytic publishing before leading into the first instalment of the chronicles of Karnac. The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic Karnac Books shows why it rose to be a pivotal member of the mental health community and continues to this day.

Forensic Psychoanalysis examines the traumatic psychological origins of violence and explores the ways in which such disasters can be prevented and treated.The book encapsulates Professor Brett Kahr’s lengthy career in the field of forensic mental health, investigating all aspects of this vital arena, from the history of criminality to the current-day application of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy to the care of rapists, arsonists, genital exhibitionists, paedophiles, and murderers. This gripping text surveys more than one century of literature on the psychotherapeutic treatment of the criminally insane and provides tremendous insight into how mental health professionals can contribute to the reduction of global violence.Forensic Psychoanalysis will be crucial for all readers interested in both the prevention of criminality and its psychological treatment.

Forensic Psychoanalysis examines the traumatic psychological origins of violence and explores the ways in which such disasters can be prevented and treated.The book encapsulates Professor Brett Kahr’s lengthy career in the field of forensic mental health, investigating all aspects of this vital arena, from the history of criminality to the current-day application of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy to the care of rapists, arsonists, genital exhibitionists, paedophiles, and murderers. This gripping text surveys more than one century of literature on the psychotherapeutic treatment of the criminally insane and provides tremendous insight into how mental health professionals can contribute to the reduction of global violence.Forensic Psychoanalysis will be crucial for all readers interested in both the prevention of criminality and its psychological treatment.

In this compellingly written and meticulously researched new book, Professor Brett Kahr draws upon extensive unpublished archival sources and upon his four decades of oral history interviews to paint fascinating portraits of many of the icons of mental health. Hidden Histories of British Psychoanalysis: From Freud’s Death Bed to Laing’s Missing Tooth includes detailed accounts of Kahr’s interviews with such noted figures as Enid Balint, Marion Milner, Ronald Laing, John Bowlby and his wife, Ursula Longstaff Bowlby, as well as numerous members of Donald Winnicott’s family. Framed as a series of glimpses into the early history of British psychoanalysis, Kahr explores how the German-speaking Sigmund Freud learned how to psychoanalyse English-speaking patients; how Enid Eichholz (the future wife of Michael Balint) pioneered couple psychoanalysis in the wake of the Second World War; how Donald Winnicott treated “The Piggle” in the midst of his own health crises; and how Masud Khan degenerated from a clinical sage into an anti-Semite. A breathtaking combination of interviews, reminiscences, and well-documented scholarship, this book provides a gripping overview of many of the key figures in British psychoanalysis, all of whom made unparalleled contributions to the mental health profession, and whose lives and careers deserve to be visited and revisited.

How to Be Intimate with 15,000,000 Strangers is an investigation into how the fields of mental health and media can work together more collaboratively.Drawing upon his extensive experience in media psychoanalysis, Brett Kahr explores how a rich collaboration with radio, television, film, and other forms of public outreach can be accomplished while also embracing the weight and gravitas of depth psychology. In addition to describing his work as Resident Psychotherapist at the B.B.C., Kahr also examines the ways in which references to the media enter the consulting room and provide clinicians with important insights about hidden aspects of the minds of their patients. Moreover, he investigates the historical hesitancy of psychoanalysts – experts in confidentiality – to engage with such a public arena as the media, thus providing important insights about how one can collaborate broadly and loudly while also maintaining one’s ethical commitment to silence and privacy. This book will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and anyone intrigued by the intersection between media and psychoanalysis.

How to Be Intimate with 15,000,000 Strangers is an investigation into how the fields of mental health and media can work together more collaboratively.Drawing upon his extensive experience in media psychoanalysis, Brett Kahr explores how a rich collaboration with radio, television, film, and other forms of public outreach can be accomplished while also embracing the weight and gravitas of depth psychology. In addition to describing his work as Resident Psychotherapist at the B.B.C., Kahr also examines the ways in which references to the media enter the consulting room and provide clinicians with important insights about hidden aspects of the minds of their patients. Moreover, he investigates the historical hesitancy of psychoanalysts – experts in confidentiality – to engage with such a public arena as the media, thus providing important insights about how one can collaborate broadly and loudly while also maintaining one’s ethical commitment to silence and privacy. This book will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and anyone intrigued by the intersection between media and psychoanalysis.

“A vivid account of how Sigmund Freud coped with the great 'pandemics' of his time, from the Great War and Spanish Flu to cancer and the Nazis. By assessing how my great-grandfather might have addressed COVID-19 – the pandemic of our own times – Professor Kahr opens up a series of insights into the life of the man who championed the radical innovation of actually listening to people suffering from mental affliction. Meticulously researched, and written with real pace, this book is a timely reminder of the psychological roots of our response to national trauma.” – Lord Freud, great-grandson of Sigmund Freud and President of the Freud Museum London In this compelling book, the first in the new Freud Museum London series, Professor Brett Kahr describes how Sigmund Freud endured innumerable emotional pandemics during his eighty-three years of life, ranging from unsubstantiated accusations by medical colleagues to anti-Semitic abuse, the loss of one daughter to Spanish flu and the arrest of another child by the Gestapo, to his own painful cancer treatments and his final flight from Adolf Hitler’s Austria. Freud navigated these personal and political tragedies while simultaneously creating a method of healing which has helped countless millions deal with unbearable trauma and distress. Through founding psychoanalysis, Kahr argues that Freud not only saved himself from destruction but also provided the rest of the world with the means to achieve a form of psychological vaccination against emotional and mental distress. The Freud Museum London and Karnac Books have joined forces to publish a new book series devoted to an examination of the life and work of Sigmund Freud alongside other significant figures in the history of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and depth psychology more broadly. The series will feature works of outstanding scholarship and readability, including biographical studies, institutional histories, and archival investigations. New editions of historical classics as well as translations of little-known works from the early history of psychoanalysis will also be considered for inclusion.

Why do human beings commit grotesque acts of violence such as paedophilia and murder? How should we treat the perpetrators of these horrific atrocities? In this gripping book, Professor Brett Kahr examines the nature of criminality throughout history, exploring the ways in which we have progressed from the ancient methods of torture and the execution of offenders to a more humane and psychologically sophisticated approach. Richly steeped in compelling clinical case reports, long-forgotten archival material, and a thorough review of cutting-edge psychological research, Dangerous Lunatics offers a unique insight into the nature of the criminal mind and its potential cure.

Although Professor Kahr spends most of his week facilitating traditional psychoanalytical sessions with his patients, in his spare time he has had many professional adventures outside the consulting room, broadcasting as Resident Psychotherapist for the B.B.C., lecturing about the intimacies of couple psychodynamics on the stage of the Royal Opera House, and defending “Lady Macbeth” in a murder trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in conjunction with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company.In this compellingly written and unputdownable book, Kahr shares his wealth of adventures both inside the consulting room and in the wider cultural sphere, disseminating psychoanalytical ideas more broadly. The book suggests that the “traditionalist” and the “maverick” aspects of the practising clinician can exist side by side in a fruitful collaboration. These adventures will encourage those embarking upon their first steps in the helping professions to entertain more creative ways of working.

Donald Winnicott is currently the most popular author in contemporary psychoanalysis. His writings are cited in bibliographies even more frequently than those of Sigmund Freud. And yet how many mental health professionals have actually managed to read and digest the nearly twenty published volumes of Winnicott's books, chapters, essays, reviews,

What does one do when a dangerous paedophile, nearly six feet seven inches in height, threatens to kill you? How does one manage when a brain-damaged, psychotic patient spits on the office floor two hundred times during the first consultation? And what does one say when one member of a warring couple reveals the most horrific acts of sexual cruelty?In perhaps his most gripping book to date, Professor Brett Kahr offers colleagues a detailed glimpse into the challenge of working with highly distressed and disturbing individuals in long-term psychotherapy. Kahr explains the ways in which such deeply troubled people hurl "bombs" into the consulting room, leaving considerable "psychological shrapnel" in their wake.The book contains five sensitively and compellingly written clinical chapters, followed by several historical chapters which explore the ways in which Donald Winnicott attempted to manage the bombs in his consulting room, often of his own making. Kahr then examines the pioneering contribution of Enid Eichholz (later Enid Balint) who, during the Second World War, created marital psychoanalysis as a means of dealing with couples ravaged by actual wartime bombs. The book concludes with an historico-clinical chapter on how thoughtful and sophisticated classical interpretation can reduce the impact of clinical bombs. Kahr even provides us with an examination of his favourite "top ten" interpretations in the history of psychoanalysis!A unique and helpful volume, written by a practitioner steeped equally in psychoanalysis and history, Bombs in the Consulting Room: Surviving Psychological Shrapnel will be essential reading for anyone who has ever felt frightened while treating patients.

This short book by Professor Brett Kahr provides a psychoanalytic understanding of fame and celebrity in the early twenty-first century, building upon the bedrock foundations of the Freudian corpus.The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter One explores the psychology of the celebrity, questioning narcissistic and exhibitionist psychopathology, while Chapter Two examines the psychological state of those of who revel in the fame of others and in celebrity culture more broadly, and offers a discussion of the "Celebrity Worship Syndrome". Chapter Three provides a very brief history of the concept of celebrity itself, arguing that, contrary to popular opinion, the culture of celebrification cannot be blamed on twenty-first-century media moguls, but, rather, that such a preoccupation with famous personalities can be traced back to ancient times and demonstrates the need to broaden our analysis to include the role of deep, unconscious psychological forces. In Chapter Four, Kahr reviews some important theoretical concepts advanced by Freud and Winnicott, which provide an important foundation for the psychoanalytic study of fame, while Chapter Five provides a more comprehensive theory of the unconscious psychological roots of the need to worship fame and to seek it, drawing upon a multitude of sources, ranging from psychoanalytic theory and developmental psychological research, to film, archaeology, and, perhaps surprisingly, the history of infanticide. The book concludes, in Chapter Six, by studying the psychodynamics of celebrity and fame, arguing that being recognised by one’s family and friends in the intimate context of home life may well be the very best way to become a celebrity.Celebrity Mad outlines a psychoanalytic theory of the roots of our obsession with fame. It will be of great interest to psychoanalytic practitioners and researchers, as well as to readers interested in the psychology of fame.

This book highlights some of Donald Winnicott's contributions that particularly illustrate the originality of his thought. It focuses on some of his indirect as well as direct contributions to psychoanalytic technique.

This is the second volume in Brett Kahr's 'Interviews with Icons' series, following on from Tea with Winnicott. Professor Kahr, himself a highly regarded psychoanalyst, turns his attention to the work of the father of psychoanalysis. The book is lavishly illustrated by Alison Bechdel, winner of the MacArthur Foundation 'Genius' Award.Sigmund Freud pays another visit to Vienna's renowned Cafe Landtmann, where he had often enjoyed reading newspapers and sipping coffee. Freud explains how he came to invent psychoanalysis, speaks bluntly about his feelings of betrayal by Carl Gustav Jung, recounts his flight from the Nazis, and so much more, all the while explaining his theories of symptom formation and psychosexuality.Framed as a 'posthumous interview', the book serves as the perfect introduction to the work of Freud while examining the context in which he lived and worked. Kahr examines his legacy and considers what Freud has to teach us. In a world where manifestations of sexuality and issues of the mind are ever more widely discussed, the work of Sigmund Freud is more relevant than ever.

How do you develop a truly rich and rewarding career in psychotherapy? How can you find joy in such painful work? How do you develop your skills in the field? How can you conquer your creative inhibitions? In short, how do you flourish as a psychotherapist? Brett Kahr answers these questions, and so many more, in his brilliant new book, painting a frank portrait of the life of the psychotherapist. Taking the reader through the life cycle of the therapist, Brett offers lots of practical advice, from assessing one’s suitability for the career, to managing one’s finances, to preparing for death. His clear voice and style shine through in this authentic, readable narrative. Professor Kahr has produced a must-read, gripping account of how you can thrive in every respect in this complex and rewarding career. How to Flourish as a Psychotherapist should be required reading for every therapist, anyone considering taking up the career, and everyone who has ever wondered what kind of person becomes a therapist. This is a truly original work that should become compulsory reading by all in the field.

This is the second volume in Brett Kahr's 'Interviews with Icons' series, following on from Tea with Winnicott. Professor Kahr, himself a highly regarded psychoanalyst, turns his attention to the work of the father of psychoanalysis. The book is lavishly illustrated by Alison Bechdel, winner of the MacArthur Foundation 'Genius' Award.Sigmund Freud pays another visit to Vienna's renowned Cafe Landtmann, where he had often enjoyed reading newspapers and sipping coffee. Freud explains how he came to invent psychoanalysis, speaks bluntly about his feelings of betrayal by Carl Gustav Jung, recounts his flight from the Nazis, and so much more, all the while explaining his theories of symptom formation and psychosexuality.Framed as a 'posthumous interview', the book serves as the perfect introduction to the work of Freud while examining the context in which he lived and worked. Kahr examines his legacy and considers what Freud has to teach us. In a world where manifestations of sexuality and issues of the mind are ever more widely discussed, the work of Sigmund Freud is more relevant than ever.

The School of Life offers radical ways to help us raid the treasure trove of human knowledge' Independent on Sunday Sigmund Freud is best known as the father of psychoanalysis. Born in 1856, he was a physiologist, medical doctor and psychologist who spent most of his life in Vienna, Austria. He developed revolutionary ideas about the unconscious mind, repression and the meaning of dreams and the clinical method of treatment through dialogue. Here you will find insights from his greatest works. The Life Lessons series from The School of Life takes a great thinker and highlights those ideas most relevant to ordinary, everyday dilemmas. These books emphasize ways in which wise voices from the past have urgently important and inspiring things to tell us. 'thoroughly welcoming and approachable ... If the six books in the Life Lessons series can teach even a few readers to pay passionate heed to the world - to notice things - they will have been an unquestionable success' John Banville, Prospect 'there is a good deal to be learned from these little primers' Observer

In the largest study ever undertaken on sexual fantasy, world-renowned psychotherapist and researcher Brett Kahr reveals the astonishing truths behind secrecy, shame, and taboo in this groundbreaking book based on surveys of 23,000 men and women from eighteen to ninety years of age. The definitive account of what our fantasies tell us about ourselves, Who's Been Sleeping in Your Head? overturns conventional wisdom about sexuality today.