Psychoanalytic Treatment

by Robert D. Stolorow, Bernard Brandchaft, George E. Atwood

Psychoanalytic An Intersubjective Approach fleshes out the implications for psychoanalytic understanding and treatment of adopting a consistently intersubjective perspective. In the course of the study, the intersubjective viewpoint is demonstrated to illuminate a wide array of clinical phenomena, including transference and resistance, conflict formation, therapeutic action, affective and self development, and borderline and psychotic states. As a consequence, the authors demonstrate that an intersubjective approach greatly facilitates empathic access to the patient's subjective world and, in the same measure, greatly enhances the scope and therapeutic effectiveness of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Treatment is another step in the ongoing development of intersubjectivity theory, as born out in Structures of Subjectivity (1984), Contexts of Being (1992), and Working Intersubjectively (1997), all published by the Analytic Press

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis

187 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mentor recommended this book as an introduction to intersubjective psychoanalysis and I was blown away. By half-way through I was converted. The book is clearly written and provides accessible clinical material as support for their theoretical assertions. Much of what is said seems intuitively obvious, and at times it left me thinking, "how the heck could I have seen it any other way before". It reminded me of my introduction to Zen Buddhism 8 years ago, reading Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, and having these constant crashes of realization break over me.

How to do the content justice... the early parts of the book focus on the what, how and why of "feeling into" of another's subjective experience (i.e. empathy), how this necessarily involves our own subjectivity, and how between the therapist and patient this creates an intersubjectivity (two subjectivities in a here-and-now relationship) that cannot and should not be objectified. Then the authors compare and contrast their view of selfobject(SO) function with Kohut's, making the argument that the primary SO function is to integrate affect into self-organization. Then they take on the impact of early relationships with parents on the development of relational schemas/modes, based on whether or not parents were able to function as SO for the childs needs or whether they forced their children to meet their own SO needs. Then they try to explain and demonstrate how and why the intersubjective approach "cures" (improves) patients.

The Classic-Contemporary rivalry is false dichotomy but if I ever had to a choose a side this book alone would probably tip me into the contemporary camp. Don't take my word for it, read it yourself.