Dhwani Shah, MD. What is Psychoanalysis?

In this conversation, I speak with Dhwani Shah, MD (he/him) who is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. 

Some highlights of our conversation:

• what psychoanalysis is and is not; some realities and misconceptions of it
• how love and hate exists in all of our relationships
• how therapy is a listening practice above all
• the intersection of therapy and culture
• the collective racialized fantasies of "Asian American" 

I really appreciated Dhwani's openness in sharing his thinking, his background, and how he became a psychoanalyst.  I think he captured the beauty of the psychoanalytic encounter and its emancipatory potential.

Let me know what you think of our conversation.  

Dhwani Shah, MD (he/him) is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst currently practicing in Princeton, NJ. He is a clinical associate faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a faculty member at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.  He has authored articles on topics ranging from neuroscience, mood disorders, and psychoanalysis. Dr Shah’s book entitled The Analyst’s Torment: Unbearable Mental States in Countertransference was recently published by Phoenix Publishing House and was featured in Brett Kahr’s “Top Ten Books of 2022.  dhwanishahmd.com

A plug for a project that I am working on, bringing Asian Americans and Psychoanalysis together, The Asian American Center for Psychoanalysis, visit taacp.org for more information and follow on Instagram.