New Voices in Psychosocial Studies: Introduction

Abstract

This introduction describes how psychosocial studies in the UK has emerged as a vibrant and varied set of theoretical concerns and empirical practices that share a number of agreed parameters. These include that it is inter- or transdisciplinary in nature; that it deals with the coming-together of ostensibly ‘social’ and ‘psychological’ factors; that it treats humans as social subjects; that it is multimodal in its methods; and that it has a strong but not fixed or universal relationship with psychoanalysis. The chapter draws attention to four main themes to be found in the work of the Birkbeck Psychosocial department and in that of other psychosocial studies researchers: theoretical engagement, methodological innovation, an approach to psychoanalysis as an ‘ambivalent object’ and a commitment to critical thinking. The introduction presents a summary guide to the other chapters of the book.