1st Edition

Disgust The Gatekeeper Emotion

By Susan Miller Copyright 2004
224 Pages
by Routledge

224 Pages
by Routledge

224 Pages
by Routledge

Susan Miller, author of two foundational works on shame ( The Shame Experience [TAP, 1985/1993pbk]; Shame in Context [TAP, 1996]), now turns to disgust, an intriguing emotion that has received little attention in the professional literature.  For Miller, the psychological study of disgust revolves around boundary issues: We tend to feel disgusted about things (from bodily processes to... Read more
1. Entering the World of Disgust
2. The Body and Mind of Disgust
3. Nature and Its Excesses
4. Varieties of Disgust
5. Disgust Syndromes
6. Sex, Procreation, and Human Intimacy
7. Disgust Within Family Groups
8. The Artistically or Scientifically Creative Individual and Freedom from Disgust
9. Group Identities and Hostility Across Borders:  Affairs of Ethnicities, Classes, and Sects
10. Disgust and Horror
11. Concepts of Disease and Health
12. Final Comments

Biography

A graduate of the University of Michigan doctoral program in clinical psychology, Susan B. Miller, Ph.D., is the author of The Shame Experience and Shame in Context, both published by The Analytic Press.  Her first novel, Indigo Rosemartin, was published by Bantam/Dell in December 2004.  Dr. Miller lives and practices in Ann Arbor, MI.

“In a volume destined to become a landmark publication, Susan Miller has once again mined a topic that, to our detriment, has been neglected in psychoanalytic circles.  Disgust: The Gatekeeper Emotion is a tour de force, filled with fascinating clinical material, laced with nuggets from poetry and literature, and augmented with a wealth of knowledge of psychoanalytic theory.  How has Miller managed to write about such an apparently unsavory topic in such an absorbing, luscious, clinically compelling way?  This remarkable achievement will be considered essential reading for practitioners and students alike for years to come.”

- Kathryn J. Zerbe, M.D., Director of Psychiatric Outpatient Services, Oregon Health & Science University

"What Susan Miller previously achieved in her authoritative discourse on shame pertains equally to her rich, wide-ranging consideration of disgust.  She brings to our attention the significance of this 'distasteful' affect and gives it the stature of a major negative emotion, a companion of shame, terror, and humiliation.   Disgust is a response to something foreign, someone or something outside the self; the Other is bad and must be distanced. Miller illustrates her points with useful clinical examples and evocative historical and cultural precedents. This beautifully written volume adds greatly to the clinician's depth of understanding and range of interventions."

- Andrew Morrison, M.D., Author, Shame: The Underside of Narcissism (Analytic Press, 1989)