The Work, Insights, Influence and Legacy of Otto Rank with Robert Kramer and Kirk Schneider

In this episode (more of a webinar really!), I have the distinguished pleasure of talking with Robert Kramer and Kirk Schneider, two of the organizers as well as upcoming speakers for the long-awaited and fascinating Otto Rank International Conference to be held online via Zoom on November 4th and 5th! We talk about the amazing work and wonderful and profound insights provided by Otto Rank, whom theologian Mathew Fox considers a “saint” and who has left a long-lasting legacy, influence, and mark upon various fields and disciplines across time and space. Rank's ideas are still valid, pertinent, and relevant today and, in fact, more so than ever, but sadly, Otto Rank was “canceled” by psychoanalytic circles and was not given the credit and merit he would have and should have deserved. Failing to acknowledge and consider the life-changing and transformative ideas of this great thinker has been to the detriment of psychoanalysis. Therapy could have been tweaked to help clients not only discover themselves but also to strengthen their "creative will" and to become not only less neurotic and more efficient in life but to enjoy it much more fully and wonderfully. Moreover, Rank has influenced social work and various movements that lead towards greater justice and more peace, compassion, and empathy in the world. His psychology of difference could help many to bridge their differences and become more peaceful and encompassing in their views, opinions, and lifestyles. Rank’s views were holistic and even cosmic in nature as opposed to the narrow-minded, specialized, medicalized, and mechanistic neuroscientific behavioral model that many in the field of psychology are following nowadays. And though Rank was silenced in his heyday and for various decades thereafter, his presence is still felt in various disciplines and his voice can be heard. You can find out more about this amazing and unique person at the upcoming Otto Rank International Conference 2023 on November 4 and November 5 presented by the Existential Humanistic Institute!