“The Psychology of Poise” begins with the description of a woman who achieves a sense of poise and self-control by having a drink or a cigarette “ready to be put to her lips at any tense or challenging moment.” Rangell goes on to discuss and dissect the manifestations of the individual’s need to maintain poise and avoid shame in social interactions and notes the roles played by the nose and mouth (“the extensive and primitive role”), the posture, and the hands. The paper was awarded the 1953 Clinical Essay Prize by the London Institute of Psychoanalysis and was published in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis 1954; 35 (3): 313-32.
