Among Erich Fromm’s many contributions to psychoanalysis was his emphasis on the impact of culture and socioeconomic systems on the mind of the individual. The author expands on the religious, cultural, social, and political influences in Fromm’s life and his passion about humankind creating a peaceful and just world. Fromm’s ideas of malignant narcissism and the biophilic and necrophilic orientations to living are also presented. Others have described Fromm’s approach to treatment as both passionate and bordering on the confrontational. The author discusses how this approach is antithetical to working with traumatized individuals suffering with multiple dissociated self-states.
The author discusses Dr. Fiscalini's idea of coparticipant psychoanalysis by placing it in historical context. The ideas of the personal self and the interpersonal self emerge from two divergent lines of interpersonal thought, one being Sullivan and the other Fromm. The author poses several questions for consideration.