Illustrated with richly detailed clinical vignettes, Seeds of Illness, Seeds of Recovery offers a fascinating investigation into the origins, modes and treatment of psychical suffering. Antonino Ferro provides a clear account of his conception of the way the mind works, his interpretation of the analytic understanding of psychopathology, his reconceptualization of the therapeutic process, and implications for analytic technique derived from his view of the therapeutic action of psychoanalysis. Drawing on and developing the ideas of Wilfred Bion, Ferro gives a unique perspective on subjects including:Container Inadequacy and Violent EmotionsThe waking dream and narrations'Evidence': starting again from BionSelf-analysis and gradients of functioning in the analyst.This highly original approach to the problem of therapeutic factors in psychoanalysis will be of interest to all practising and training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.

Ogden, Foreword. Seeds of Illness and the Role of Defences. The Culture of Reverie and the Culture of Evacuation. Container Inadequacy and Violent Emotions. Nachträglichkeit and the Stork: The Analytic Field and Dream Thought Clinical Illustration. The Waking Dream and Narrations. 'Evidence': Starting Again from Bion. From the Tyranny of the Superego to the Democracy of Affects: The Transformational Passage Through the Analyst's Mind. Self-analysis and Gradients of Functioning in the Analyst. Pivotal-age Crises and Pivotal-event Crises. Psychoanalysis and Narration. Bibliography.