- Research Article
- 10.1002/aps.70012
Book Review Editorial: Secrets
- Nov 15, 2025
- International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies
- Salman Akhtar
In Freud 1901, Freud declared that “no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore” (71). Curiously, it took another 50 years, to be precise, for the first psychoanalytic paper on secrets (Gross 1951) to appear. He noted that secret keeping is invariably associated with the contradictory wishes to retain and reveal the sequestered, private mental content. Gross traced the tendency to create and maintain secrets to the oedipal phase during which the child is preoccupied with desires to pry open the secrets of parental sexuality. Following this, Sulzberger (1953) described gender differences in this realm, noting that men are more likely to reveal their own secrets whereas women are prone to reveal others' secrets. Margolis (1966, 1974) extended these ideas and, adding his own perspective, elucidated the technical handling of secrets in the course of analytic treatment. More recently, Khan (1983) referred to a secret/s as a potential space and I called it “an intrapsychic cul-de-sac which not only disrupts life's experiential continuity but mobilizes defensive processes to guard its own existence (Akhtar 1985, 82). An important contribution was also made by Celenza (2007) by underscoring how analytic confidentiality can deteriorate into “hyper-confidentiality” and secrecy which, in turn, prepare grounds for boundary violation. This breathless recounting of psychoanalytic literature on secrets is a lexical welcoming doormat to welcome the powerful and significant new book on this topic by the highly respected Oregon-based psychoanalyst, Kathryn Zerbe. Having contributed two acclaimed monographs on eating disorders (Zerbe 1993, 2008), the esteemed clinician-theorist has turned her attention to secrets and their psychosomatic and relational vicissitudes. This literary and clinical gem is reviewed here by Nathaniel Strenger, a rising star in psychoanalytic therapy, from a multidimensional viewpoint. The review of Zerbe's book is paired with a parallel consideration by the Dallas-based psychotherapist, Joelle Pahl of a book on secrets by the British investigative journalist Andrew Gold. Sandwiched between these two openly secret-centered books is a review by an upcoming psychological talent, Derin Muzaffar Iscan, who takes up a pop-psychology book on the dark and hidden aspects of societal functioning, including pervert operations, pedophilic rings, private cultish clubs, and so on. Working in unison, the three reviews (and of course the books they address) bring us in close contact with many unlit corners of the mind, both in its individual and collective dimensions. Uncomfortable and even spooky though some of this material might be, its perusal is bound to enhance the clinician's empathy and enrich his or her therapeutic armamentarium. The author declares no conflicts of interest. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
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