Recent Publications on Nietzsche’s Psychology and Its Legacy in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

Abstract The psychological dimension of Nietzsche’s thought has long attracted interest across various disciplines. However, the precise relationship between Nietzsche’s philosophical psychology and the modern traditions of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy remains contested. The six recent publications reviewed here approach this complex field from different perspectives: from Nietzsche’s reception in the works of Freud and Jung, to the role of Nietzschean motifs in contemporary therapeutic discourse, and the question of the “therapeutic” function of Nietzsche’s own philosophical writing. Together, these studies reveal both the productivity and the limits of applying clinical, psychoanalytic, or psychological frameworks to Nietzsche’s thought. They also highlight how Nietzsche himself – whether through his notions of drive, suffering, or transformation – may be read as a thinker of psychic processes rather than a systematic theorist of the psyche.