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Soul Magic

A Century of Psychotherapy
By Steve Ayan
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Brief Description
What is a human being? Where does neurosis begin? Is sexual desire truly the engine of thought? Can fear, trauma and depression ever be cured? And what, by the way, is the meaning of life? In this vivid and gripping account, psychologist Steve Ayan takes us... Read More
Format: Hardback
$5999
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What is a human being? Where does neurosis begin? Is sexual desire truly the engine of thought? Can fear, trauma and depression ever be cured? And what, by the way, is the meaning of life?

In this vivid and gripping account, psychologist Steve Ayan takes us back to fin-de-siècle Vienna, where a bold new idea was born: that psychotherapy could heal the mind. This is the enthralling story of how Freud, Jung, Adler, and their contemporaries revolutionised the way we understand ourselves—giving rise to psychotherapy, a field that would forever reshape Western culture.

With captivating storytelling and deep insight, Ayan unpacks the dreams, rivalries, and obsessions of these early visionaries. More than simply a historical account, this book explores the lasting legacy of their work, revealing how the promise of personal transformation became a modern fixture of society—and how the questions they raised still echo in our lives today.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781805332374

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 23 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Marshall Yarbrough

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

Collections

Biography & Memoir Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Non-Fiction Steve Ayan

About the Author

Steve Ayan is a German psychologist, scientific journalist and author. He studied psychology, literary translation and science journalism in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Reading and Naples. He is editor-in-chief at the magazine Gehirn&Geist. His research specialises in consciousness research, moral psychology and psychotherapy. Ayan lives in Heidelberg, Germany.

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