The Making of Psychohistory: Origins, Controversies, and Pioneering Contributors by Dr. Paul H. Elovitz, PhD (2018) – follow the link to order from the publisher (ISBN # 978-1-138-58749-6, use FLR40 code to get a 20% discount).
Read Excerpts from Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 and Table of Contents from The Making of Psychohistory.
Volume 32 - Number 3 - Summer 2025,
Pages: 261 - 389
Section: PSYCHOANALYTIC REFLECTIONS ON ANIMALS AND PETS IN OUR LIVES
Rozentsvit, I. (2025). A dog’s purpose: Personal and psychohistorical reflections. Clio’s Psyche, 32(3), 261-270. https://doi.org/10.70763/33b3214d792caf311e1f00fd22b392c5
A Dog’s Purpose: Personal and Psychohistorical Reflections (article)
Keywords: attunement, D. W. Winnicott, emotional witness, good enough mother, grief, human-animal bond, identity, pet parenting, psychoanalytic perspective, psychobiography, psychohistory, resilience, transitional object, trauma processing
Abstract: This article explores the human-dog bond through the author’s experiences with four dogs across different life stages. Drawing on Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects, affective neuroscience, and cultural reflections, it examines how dogs serve as emotional witnesses, co-regulators, and anchors amid grief, resilience, and transformation. Interweaving memoir and psychohistorical analysis, it argues that canine love reveals profound truths about relational attunement, intergenerational healing, and the nonlinear arc of emotional development across generations, species, and time
Abstract: This article explores the human-dog bond through the author’s experiences with four dogs across different life stages. Drawing on Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects, affective neuroscience, and cultural reflections, it examines how dogs serve as emotional witnesses, co-regulators, and anchors amid grief, resilience, and transformation. Interweaving memoir and psychohistorical analysis, it argues that canine love reveals profound truths about relational attunement, intergenerational healing, and the nonlinear arc of emotional development across generations, species, and time
Authors:
Inna Rozentsvit
Inna Rozentsvit, MD, PhD, MBA, MSciEd, is a neurologist and neurorehabilitation specialist trained in psychoanalysis. She serves as Associate Editor of Clio’s Psyche and Associate Director of the Psychohistory Forum. Dr. Rozentsvit is founder and neuropsychoeducator at the non-profit NeurorecoverySolutions, Inc., Programs Director at the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and Editor-in-Chief of the ORI Academic Press, MindMend Publishing Co., and MindConsiliums, the interdisciplinary journal. She may be contacted at or www.innarozentsvit.com.
