Relational Psychoanalysis, Volume 1 by Stephen A Mitchell

Relational Psychoanalysis, Volume 1 by Stephen A Mitchell

Over the course of the past 15 years, there has been a vast sea change in American psychoanalysis. It takes the form of a broad movement away from classical psychoanalytic theorizing grounded in Freud's drive theory toward models of mind and development grounded in object relations concepts. In clinical practice, there has been a corresponding movement away from the classical principles of neutrality, abstinence and anonymity toward an interactive vision of the analytic situation that places the analytic relationship, with its powerful, reciprocal affective currents, in the foreground. These developments have been evident in virtually all schools of psychoanalysis in America, from the most traditional to the most radical.

The wellspring of these innovations is the work of a group of psychoanalysts who have struggled to integrate aspects of interpersonal psychoanalysis, various British object relations theories, and psychoanalytic feminism. Although not self-selected as a school, these theorists have generated a distinct tradition of psychoanalytic thought and clinical practice that has become extremely influential within psychoanalysis in the United States.

Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition brings together for the first time the seminal papers of the major authors within this tradition. Each paper is accompanied by an introduction, in which the editors place it in its historical context, and a new afterward, in which the author suggests subsequent developments in his or her thinking. This book is an invaluable resource for any clinical practitioner, teacher or student of psychoanalysis interested in exploring the exciting developments of recent years.

Lewis Aron, Ph.D., is the Director of the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He was the founding president of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP), and was formerly President of the Division of Psychoanalysis (39) of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Aron was the founding President of the Division of Psychologist-Psychoanalysts of the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA), and was Distinguished Professor of Psychoanalysis in The Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Dr. Aron is internationally recognized as a teacher and lecturer on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. He teaches numerous ongoing study groups to professional therapists. Dr. Aron is in the private practice of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in Port Washington and New York City, and he provides consulting and development services to executives, businesses, associations, and organizations.

Adrienne Harris, Ph.D., is Clinical Associate Professor at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and is a Visiting Scholar at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. She is an Associate Editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and a Consulting Editor for Studies in Gender and Sexuality. She has co-edited The Legacy of Sandor Ferenczi with Lewis Aron, and Storms in Her Head: Freud and the Construction of Hysteria with Muriel Dimen. Her book on developmental theory and chaos theory, Gender as a Soft Assembly, was published in 2005.