Found in Translation. Volume II. Crime and Suicide: Early mapping of detours and moving backward

Book excerpt: This volume is the second in a series entitled Found in Translation. It follows the first volume, Somatic Vocabulary: Early Contributions to Organ Jargon. This book is a compilation of articles originally published in the Russian journal Психотерапия (Psychotherapy) and the Austrian Internationale Zeitschrift für Individual Psychologie (International journal of individual psychology) between November/December 1910 and the second half of 1937. The theme is crime and suicide, and the articles were authored by German, Austrian, French, and Russian psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators who were, to various degrees, influenced by Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology. The articles reflect the emerging theory of Individual Psychology, and its active view on social issues, from educational reforms to parenting and family functioning, to criminal justice system. Individual Psychological approach to human nature as essentially relational is palpable in all articles, and readers will be able to watch how this concept has become more mature and active with time, between 1910s and 1930s. Adler's concept of Social Interest and his idea of person's unique, self-consistent, creative, and purposeful strategy in dealing with life challenges are considered in many theoretical discussions and case studies included in this book. The book is illustrated with original works of art allowing its readers to attend to artistic reflections on the major theme of the book as well as on specific cases.