Freud and Yung are the fashionable trade marks like Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola. We are working ahead of our time.
An interview with Dr. Leonid Kroll for "Nezavisimaya Gazeta", #45(66) November, 1998.
– "How did you come up with an idea to create "A Library of Psychology and Psychotherapy"?
– A person must strive to learn more while he can. Asked how he could study a worm all his life, one biologist answered: "Life is so short, and the worm is so long". The same relates to the topic of our conversation. As a professional I travelled extensively, attended conferences, talked to authors and publishes. I had a unique opportunity to select best books out of thousands. I had a chance to compare the quality of work, the literary merits. I could see how the most talented authors learned to talk about the most complex issues in a simple language. I believe that it is extremely important to bring to Russia the best that the psychological science can offer and what is written in understandable language. In our culture people are used to hide behind words, excessive scientific terminology, complex meanings, linguistic neologisms, The books we offer to Russian readers treat complex problems in ways that are simple and understandable. Also, these books stimulate dialogue. The narrative is directed to an unseen reader, a participant of a dialogue. Reading these books one gets involved in a narrative process. Another important consideration is that I am not a publisher only. Publishing is only one of my favourite activities. The books that we aim to publish are based on a training culture. This approach treats a person not as a passive object that has to be taught but involves this person into an educational process. The result is a mixture of education, medicine, psychotherapy and existentialism – everything most useful and prominent in the Western culture of the last 20-30 years. Our series is unique since it offers only the latest and the best. These are not classical books that are good for all times and ages. Freud and Yung wrote their books more than 70 years ago. Our books were written as active scientific discussion over the last 10 years. These are the carefully selected classics of our time.
– This brings me to the question of who is your reader? What is his educational level and background? Also, the general public in Russia does not fully understand psychotherapy as a modern trend. To many psychotherapy is synonymous with psychoanalysis and Freud. There is a wide gap between Freud and modern writers such as Whitacker, Minuchin, Madanes. For example, Adler's books are in between but still unknown and unread in Russia. Are you bothered by this gap and emptiness? Don't you think that these books are…
– Too modern for us?
– Right. Don't you think that these books stand on a foundation that is not there?
– Well, you have asked three questions. First is who are our readers? These are people of helping professions, those who work with people professionally and need to know how to treat them. These are teachers, doctors, people working in a PR system or personnel agencies. These are all those who need modern psychology in a broad sense. Modern psychology was born out of psychotherapeutic technologies adapted for normal healthy people. Naturally, our books are most needed for professionals in the field. These are psychiatrists, neuropathologists, physicians, psychotherapists, or all those who treat souls. For them our books offer not basically useful but pragmatically unimportant classical works but a wide range of novel approaches, including psychodrama, gestalt-therapy, Ericksonian hypnosis, etc. So, we are helping people to get a broader view on what is happening around. Also, our audience is very wide; plenty of people are interested in psychology. All the books that we have published are well written from the literary point of view. They are easy to read and enjoy. A lot of people who want to change something in their lives could do it without doing it professionally, without becoming patients and clients, but simply by reading a book. Our books are superior in quality to general how-to-do-it manuals. They involve readers into a world of ideas, thinking, search for answers. Our books do not give simple recommendations but offer a possibility of finding valuable personalized solutions through thinking and absorbing the information. I should also talk about the general humanistic value of our books. Our culture is full of stereotypes and fixed habits. The most common example is that our people tend to say "no" three times before they say "yes". People are getting trained in this. Every "yes" leads to responsibility. Our people customarily say "no" to avoid responsibility; while a person of the Western culture customarily says "yes" to establish credibility and only later introduces "no" into conversation. Good psychological and psychotherapeutic literature focuses our mentality on new resources, on new ways to solve problems within ourselves. These books teach us to perceive a psychologist and psychotherapist from a new perspective – not as someone to be afraid of – but as a resource to change lives for the better. So, our books have an important humanistic value, from this perspective.
– What about the foundations?
– I do not think that readers care much about the evolution process from Freud to our days. Who fathered who? Thousands of such books are published in the West. Readers must be aware of such literature in general, they must have an opportunity to try various "cuisines". Specialists who need to know the history of these trends will be able to find this information elsewhere. Secondly, the classical books are important but they were written in the 20s and 30s. Apparently, they will be published later, once the basic interest in them grows sufficiently to justify their edition. Freud and Jung are the well-promoted trade marks similar to Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. They are a welcome addition to anybody's personal library. On person out of ten who bought their books would care to read them. But we work with contemporary authors that are much more appreciated.
– In the West Freud maybe compared to Coca-Cola and Jung – to Pepsi-Cola. In Russia it is the other way round.
– Psychoanalysis became a fad; everyone versed in psychology is called a psychoanalyst. This is due to a certain myth of stability. Psychoanalysis is perceived as a trend proven by time; it is considered safe to invest your time and money in. Psychoanalysis is a symbol of Western fashion. Yung is understood as someone close to Freud but more superficial. His teaching does not require fundamental training, allows more freedom, fantasy, interpretation. Thus, by staying close to Freud, Jung is perceived as stable, classical and attractive trade mark. Moreover, adherents of Jung are very talkative and proactive, they are actively trying to "convert" Russia. In the West, psychotherapist is an occupation for middle-aged people; many turn psychotherapists in the second part of their lives. This is especially true for the Jungean school. The inherent Jungean thought by association and freedom resonate with greater number of people. Professionals of the Jungean school readily come to Russia, allow their books to be published, and find eager listeners to their fairy-tales.
– So, you shape your readers. Books from your publishing house "Klass" are easy to read but they remain books for intellectuals. But the market is full of books like "Ask yourself a thousand questions" or "How to be always in time and never be late". There are Russian authors like Kozlov. Do they target the same audience like you?
– It's like layers of soil that are mutually complimentary. There is humus and sands and water impenetrable soils. I do not see much competition here. Our books are meant for more mature readers, for someone who had some background in this field. Even those books that are more professionally-oriented (for intellectuals, as you say) can easily be read, understood and appreciated by amateurs. In fact, we publish all sorts of books. For example "The secret meaning of money" is a book for general public about the role that money play in a family, about hidden messages behind money matters. The book raises deeper questions about philosophy of money. In this country that was turned into an economics university for millions this book is indispensable.
– What publishing houses do you like?
– I buy a lot of books. This is a good time for buying books. There are several excellent publishes like "Logos", " Ad Marginem", "New literary review"…
– But these publishing houses do not specialize in psychology.
– Unfortunately, we do not have competitors in the field of psychology. Nobody works with this market so consistently as us. For example, publishing house "Peter" is doing some good work but fills the market with useful and much needed psychological "trash". They plant a lot of seeds, some of which may grow. We plant well-formed saplings with well-developed root system. Another difference is that we work legally by paying copyrights to original publishers. While there is much pirating around. Books are frequently published illegally, with poor translations and no scientific editing. So, we set up an example of doing business properly.
– What is your strategic aim? To cure everyone?
– We publish books on psychology for normal healthy people. I want to establish a fashion: people must have private psychotherapists, same as they tend to have private accountant, hair stylist, gynecologist, tour operator. I hope that the books published by "Klass" and the successful image of psychotherapy in the West will convince our readers that psychology and psychotherapy are much needed in their everyday lives. We are in a perfect position to choose the best. Thus, my aim is to tend the garden, create a certain model or style and plant it in other cities. Our center is just a step stone. Others pave this road, too. I hope that in ten years time much of what we do will bear fruit.
