Is It Too Late?: Key Papers on Psychoanalysis and Ageing

This book brings together a selection of classic psychoanalytical papers related to aging, dying, and death that have appeared in the renowned International Journal of Psychoanalysis. People are living longer than ever before, leading full and active lives long past retirement, and yet many analysts are averse to working with patients over the age of fifty. Sigmund Freud never wavered from his conviction that the elderly would not benefit from analysis and, despite the huge expansion in analytic technique and practice since the 1940s, the treatment of elderly patients is still not widely practiced. This is reflected in a paucity of papers on the subject--a mere twenty papers on the analysis of elderly patients have appeared in the journal's long history.

The chosen papers come from eminent analysts, most of whom have embarked on clinical work with elderly patients. Two papers--one by Hanna Segal, who has also written the Foreword, and the other by Nina E. C. Coltart--address the analysis of an elderly patient directly and bring the work and the challenges it brings vividly to life. Also explored are such issues as death and the midlife crisis, loneliness and the aging process, aging and psychopathology, fear of death, transference and countertransference issues, and the final stage of the dying process. The book ends with Erik Erikson's paper on the generational cycle. This paper is a fitting conclusion from the pioneer whose work contributed to a clearer understanding of the impact of the experiences of the life cycle, from childhood to old age.

It is to be hoped that this fascinating collection will stimulate further research and encourage more analysts to work with this neglected and growing section of the population.

The Contributors: Norman A Cohen, Nina E. C. Coltart, Erik Homburger Erikson, Tor-Bjorn Hagglund, Elliott Jaques, Gabriele Junkers, Pearl H.M. King, Wolfgang Loch, George H. Pollock, Hanna Segal, Harold W. Wylie, and Mavis L. Wylie