This book is concerned with whether we can develop our understanding of the mind through the application of new approaches to the study of complex systems. It is divided into two sections. The first is concerned with the application of non-linear systems theory to the psychoanalytic study of the mind.

Introduction -- The Application of Non-Linear Dynamical Systems Theory to the Psychoanalytical Study of the Mind -- The strange attractor -- Experimental psychology and psychoanalysis: what we can learn from a century of misunderstanding -- Chaos theory and psychoanalysis: the fluidic nature of the mind -- Chaotic possibilities: toward a new model of development -- Clinical and Technical Implications of the Non-Linear Model -- Internal objects considered as strange attractors in the non-linear dynamical system of the mind -- The number of sessions per week as an aspect of the psychoanalytical setting: theoretical and technical implications -- Some research implications -- Some clinical implications -- Some conclusions