Eric Rhode
Encyclopedia
Eric Rhode is a British writer on traditional cosmology and psychoanalysis.
and extended his understanding of psychoanalysis through training as a child psychotherapist
at the Tavistock Clinic
under Martha Harris. A major concern in his writing is to show how the grammar
of psychopathology
is a key to major insights of general interest. His later work addresses the interface between the structures discernible in dreams, children's play, aesthetics
, ethnographic ritual, and philosophy
.
As an undergraduate, Rhode directed plays at the Edinburgh festival
; his own early play, – The Pagoda Fugue - was aired on BBC Radio. His writing on film appeared in Sight and Sound, The Listener
, Encounter
, The Observer
; he contributed pieces on literature and art to the New Statesman
and The Financial Times, while the New Society and The Times Literary Supplement
published pieces on psychoanalytic topics, and occasional pieces ran in The Sunday Times
. During this period, Rhode wrote Tower of Babel (a collection of writing on the cinema
) and also The History of the Cinema from its origins to 1970 for Penguin Books
. He edited A game that must be lost, the posthumous papers by Adrian Stokes
on psychoanalysis and art, and hosted a 70-minute programme on Adrian Stokes for BBC Radio 3
.
After qualifying as a child psychotherapist, Rhode worked in the National Health Service
at Paddington
Green Child Guidance Clinic and in private practice, and studied with eminent Kleinian
psychoanalysts including Wilfred Bion
. His first psychoanalytically-informed book was Of Birth and Madness, a London Times Book of the Week. It arose out of interviews he conducted in an inpatient unit for mothers with post-partum psychosis and their babies, but also addressed the historical and cultural evolution of attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth and the psychiatric theories they inspired. His later books continue to be psychoanalytically informed but extend into aspects of traditional cosmology
. Married to the child psychotherapist Maria Rhode. Four children. He lives in London.
Life and work
Rhode's writing is unusual in its striving towards the integration of a wide variety of interests and intellectual disciplines. Coming from a background of many years' work as a critic, author and broadcaster on film and the arts, he undertook a personal psychoanalysis with Donald MeltzerDonald Meltzer
Donald Meltzer was a Kleinian psychoanalyst whose teaching made him influential in many countries. He became known for making clinical headway with difficult childhood conditions such as autism, and also for his theoretical innovations and developments...
and extended his understanding of psychoanalysis through training as a child psychotherapist
Child psychotherapy
For therapies based on attachment theory see Attachment based therapy .Mental health interventions for children vary with respect to the problem being addressed and to the age and other individual characteristics of the child...
at the Tavistock Clinic
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
under Martha Harris. A major concern in his writing is to show how the grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of psychopathology
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
is a key to major insights of general interest. His later work addresses the interface between the structures discernible in dreams, children's play, aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, ethnographic ritual, and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
As an undergraduate, Rhode directed plays at the Edinburgh festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
; his own early play, – The Pagoda Fugue - was aired on BBC Radio. His writing on film appeared in Sight and Sound, The Listener
The Listener
The Listener was a weekly magazine established by the BBC in January 1929 which ceased publication in 1991. The entire digitised catalogue was made available online to libraries, educational and research institutions in 2011....
, Encounter
Encounter (magazine)
Encounter was a literary magazine, founded in 1953 by poet Stephen Spender and early neoconservative author Irving Kristol. The magazine ceased publication in 1991...
, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
; he contributed pieces on literature and art to the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
and The Financial Times, while the New Society and The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
published pieces on psychoanalytic topics, and occasional pieces ran in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
. During this period, Rhode wrote Tower of Babel (a collection of writing on the cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
) and also The History of the Cinema from its origins to 1970 for Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. He edited A game that must be lost, the posthumous papers by Adrian Stokes
Adrian Stokes (critic)
Adrian Stokes was a British writer and painter, known principally as an influential art critic. He was also a published poet.- Background :...
on psychoanalysis and art, and hosted a 70-minute programme on Adrian Stokes for BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
.
After qualifying as a child psychotherapist, Rhode worked in the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
at Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
Green Child Guidance Clinic and in private practice, and studied with eminent Kleinian
Melanie Klein
Melanie Reizes Klein was an Austrian-born British psychoanalyst who devised novel therapeutic techniques for children that had an impact on child psychology and contemporary psychoanalysis...
psychoanalysts including Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Ruprecht Bion DSO was an influential British psychoanalyst, who became president of the British Psychoanalytical Society from 1962 to 1965....
. His first psychoanalytically-informed book was Of Birth and Madness, a London Times Book of the Week. It arose out of interviews he conducted in an inpatient unit for mothers with post-partum psychosis and their babies, but also addressed the historical and cultural evolution of attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth and the psychiatric theories they inspired. His later books continue to be psychoanalytically informed but extend into aspects of traditional cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
. Married to the child psychotherapist Maria Rhode. Four children. He lives in London.
External links
- Eric Rhode, Eric's web page.