Joel Weinberger, PhD
Valentina Stoycheva, PhD
The Unconscious: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications
In discussion with Elliot Jurist, PhD
Winner of the American Board and
Academy of Psychoanalysis Book Prize
Weaving together state-of-the-art research, theory, and clinical insights, this book provides a new understanding of the unconscious and its centrality in human functioning. The authors review heuristics, implicit memory, implicit learning, attribution theory, implicit motivation, automaticity, affective versus cognitive salience, embodied cognition, and clinical theories of unconscious functioning. They integrate this work with cognitive neuroscience views of the mind to create an empirically supported model of the unconscious. Arguing that widely used psychotherapies--including both psychodynamic and cognitive approaches--have not kept pace with current science, the book identifies promising directions for clinical practice.
Joel Weinberger, Ph.D. Joel Weinberger, PhD is Professor in the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the American Psychological Association. His research on unconscious processes has been recognized with the Ulf Kragh Award from the University of Lundh, Sweden. Author or coauthor of approximately 100 publications, including his book, co-authored with Dr. Stoycheva, “The Unconscious”. Dr. Weinberger is also a founder of Implicit Strategies, which Consults for political campaigns, nonprofits, and businesses. His political and business commentaries have appeared in the national media. He is also a practicing clinical psychologist.
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Dr. Weinberger's faculty profile may be found here.
Valentina Stoycheva, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, and founder of STEPS: Stress & Trauma Evaluation and Psychological Services, a group psychotherapy practice in New York. She has worked extensively in the field of trauma treatment and post-traumatic growth, including helping individuals heal from childhood abuse, domestic violence, medical trauma, natural disasters, and war-related trauma. Dr. Stoycheva is also a senior psychologist at Northwell Health, where she worked heavily with individuals and families recovering from combat and war-related difficulties. In 2018, Dr. Stoycheva was awarded Adelphi University's 10 Under 10 young alumni award. She consults for organizations and treatment centers regarding trauma-informed care and her commentaries have appeared in publications such as The New York Times and the Huffington Post.
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You can find out more about Dr. Stoycheva's professional work here.
Elliot Jurist, Ph.D. is a practicing clinical psychologist and an academic. He is Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at the Graduate Center and The City College of New York, CUNY. From 2004-2013, he served as the Director of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at CUNY. From 2008 to 2017, Dr. Jurist has been the Editor of Psychoanalytic Psychology, the journal of Division 39 of the APA. He is also Editor of the Psychoanalysis and Psychological Science book series. Dr. Jurist is the author of Minding Emotions: Cultivating Mentalization in Psychotherapy, and co-author of Affect Regulation, Mentalization and the Development of the Self and of the forthcoming APA book, Working with Parents in Therapy: A Mentalization Based Approach. He is also the co-editor of Mind to Mind: Infant Research, Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis (Other Press, 2008).
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Dr. Jurist's professional website is www.elliotjurist.com