Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.
Recently, we interviewed Jaime Grunfeld about his writing and his novel, Aliya, The Girl from Ukraine, a deeply felt novel about a young woman’s journey to happiness. (Read the review here.)
Jaime Grunfeld, LMHC, was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where his parents, who lived in Hungary, fled after its invasion by the Nazis. As a teenager, he came to study at Yeshiva in Westchester County, NY, where he graduated in Talmudic Law. Returning to Brazil, he married and joined the family’s textile industry, where over the years he became its CEO.
In 2004, Jaime and his wife decided to move to the USA, where their children lived. With years of psychoanalysis under his belt, and passion about the subject, Jaime decided to make it his career. He holds a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Touro College, NY, and is a candidate in adult psychoanalysis by the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. He’s licensed and practices in the states of New York and New Jersey, where in his own words he “helps his clients figure out themselves and achieve inner peace.”
Websites: Therapy: www.wellnesstherapy.nyc
Author: www.jgrunfeld.com
Can you tell us a bit about your professional background and experience in psychoanalysis?
Interesting question. I’m not originally from the psychological field. As a typical orthodox Jew, I graduated from Yeshiva with a bachelors in Talmudic Law.
My first job was in a family textile company, founded by my father, in Sao Paulo Brazil, where I stayed for 20 years. I worked in all areas of the company, becoming its CEO. At age 40, I went to seek psychological help. I think part of it was due to a midlife crisis, and also due to the fact that the company was facing financial difficulties.
I have always been a person who likes to understand things in depth. Much more so now, when the question was myself. After researching the subject, I decided that psychoanalysis could provide me with what I was looking for. I embarked on it with all its intensity, three times a week, lying on the couch. Although skeptical at first, I ended up falling in love, and already having ideas about moving to the USA, I decided to make it my profession.
I then entered Touro College to do my master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling, and with that in hand, I contacted Dr. Arnold Richards, who is part of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, as recommended by my Brazilian analyst, to do my analytic training.
When did you decide you wanted to take your knowledge of the field and write a book, resulting in Aliya, The Girl from Ukraine?
In one of my supervision sessions, discussing this client’s case, my supervisor made a comment like “This case is quite interesting. It’s unfolding like a novel, it would make a good book.” I’m not sure if he meant it literally, or if it was just a compliment, but I took it very seriously, and started to work on it.
What was the writing process like for this book?
I’m not a professional writer, and English is not my first language. Many details needed to be changed to preserve my client’s confidentiality. So I ended up hiring a professional writer to whom I emailed weekly my session notes, and she sent me back her modified and elaborated version for my approval.
What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about psychoanalysis and psychotherapy?
You don’t need a specific symptom to be in psychodynamic therapy. Unlike CBT, psychodynamic therapy is not a toolbox of how to cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression; It’s rather a method to achieve inner peace through self-knowledge. As Tina Liffors said “When you know yourself you are empowered. When you accept yourself you are invincible.”
Do you have a favorite section of the book, or a section you particularly enjoyed writing?
I enjoyed all the sections the same. It was fascinating to relive the emotions I felt when the sessions took place.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t intend to give up my main profession as a psychoanalyst, but depending on the acceptance of this first work of mine, I have several other analysands whose stories are no less fascinating than this one, and I will be happy to share them with the public to raise awareness about the benefits of psychotherapy to proactively preserve your mental health.
***
BookView Review 
Leave a comment