Psychoanalytic Psychology

From the editor.
Elliot Jurist, in beginning his third year as editor of Psychoanalytic Psychology, offers a few reflections on the field of psychoanalytic psychology, particularly in relation to the wider field of mental health. He introduces an interview that he conducted with Peter Fonagy, discusses the importance of Psychoanalytic Psychology remaining a scholarly journal, and notes that contributions to the journal are invited that discuss the place of psychoanalytic psychology in relation to the field of clinical psychology and the wider realm of mental health professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Elliot Jurist interviews Peter Fonagy.
Presents an interview of Peter Fonagy, by Elliot Jurist. In it, they discuss the future of the field of psychoanalytic psychology, the place that psychoanalysis will have within health care systems, how psychotherapy research could contribute to psychoanalysis, and potential contributions to the field from neurobiological research and other areas of psychology. Other topics covered include the traditional distinction between psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the importance for psychoanalysis to be familiar with developments in the CBT therapy tradition, how psychoanalytic education has changed over the last 10 years, and the issue of psychologist researchers who are critical of clinicians who are unresponsive to research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Siblings, transference, and the lateral dimension of psychic life.
The author considers developmental and transferential implications of the lateral dimension of psychic life, which entails the challenge to forge a unique and valued identity in a world of one’s equals, beginning with siblings. The lateral dimension intersects with the vertical dimension of hierarchical relationships, notably those between child and parent. Consideration of the lateral dimension and its particular developmental challenge promises to expand our understanding of the processes of identity development and of transferences involving both siblings and parents. Moreover, conceiving of psychic life as comprising two dimensions may help to contextualize existing psychoanalytic understanding of sibling-related processes in light of fundamental tenets of psychoanalytic theory. A detailed clinical case provides an opportunity to consider the entwined roles of siblings and parents in the developmental challenges of the lateral and the vertical dimensions, and the ways in which identifications with parents and siblings may address those challenges. The author concludes that attention to the lateral dimension and its sibling-centered processes rewards us with a more comprehensive view of identity development and transference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Examining the relationship between current attachment status and freely recalled autobiographical memories of childhood.
This study investigated the relationship between individual differences in attachment and the free recall of childhood memories. Specifically, it focuses on how attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, using the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale self-report, relate to the affective quality and the presence of caregivers in memories from childhood. Participants were 79 undergraduate and masters students attending a northeast university. Participants completed a memory task designed to elicit freely recalled memories from childhood. They then rated the affective valence (positive/negative) and intensity of each memory, and identified memories in which caretakers were present. Attachment avoidance was related to recalling more negative memories involving caretakers and was negatively related to the average intensity of memories involving caretakers. The results support and extend previous research suggesting that affect regulation strategies employed by individuals high in attachment anxiety and high in attachment avoidance are linked to differences in how information about the past is recalled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Reality matters: The shadow of trauma on African American subjectivity.
Few psychoanalytic theories accord social, political, and cultural realities a role in the development of the psyche. This silence distorts and constricts our understanding of all subjects, but is particularly pernicious for the nondominant, as it renders significant aspects of their subjectivities invisible. African American subjectivity is an instance of such omission. The trauma of slavery critically shaped our subjectivity, yet this impact is rarely acknowledged. In fact, the subjugation, cruelties, and deprivations of slavery have given a traumatic cast to African American subjectivity. Through the intergenerational transmission of trauma this wounding has endured. This article examines the effect of African American historical reality on subjectivity. In particular, transmission of slavery’s essential characteristic—a relationship of domination—is explored. A clinical case manifesting instances of these issues is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
The psychoanalytic process and Freud’s concepts of transference and transference neurosis.
The author investigates the concept of psychoanalytic process as it relates to the capability for defining the specificity of psychoanalytic treatments. The concept is traced back to its origin in Freud’s understanding of transference and transference neurosis. The author suggests that this process should be understood as an issue in which via “just-like-interpretations” contents of the patient’s transference enter into consciousness in the guise of a transference neurosis. These newly built substitutive formations are then removed by “just-like-it-was-interpretations” and changed into other substitutive formations. As this process can only be instigated by psychoanalytic measures, it is, therefore, the process itself that defines the specific difference of psychoanalytic treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Freud’s debt to stoicism?: A critical response to Kirsner.
In “Freud, Civilization, Religion, and Stoicism” Douglas Kirsner (2006a) writes of the neglect in the psychoanalytical literature of mention of “Freud’s debt to stoicism”. His essay, he adds, is an attempt to “develop the idea of Freud as a stoic still further”. What does it mean to say that Freud is, at least to some degree, a Stoic and that he owes a debt to them? If a debt exists, it exists because there are numerous striking similarities that show a direct or significant influence of the Stoics on Freud. In this commentary, I show that the similarities Kirsner notes are indirect and, most importantly, insignificant. Freud is not in any meaningful sense a Stoic and, thus, he owes no debt to them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Review of Polarities of experience: Relatedness and self-definition in personality development, psychopathology, and the therapeutic process.
Reviews the book, Polarities of experience: Relatedness and self-definition in personality development, psychopathology, and the therapeutic process by Sidney J. Blatt (see record 2008-01813-000). In this book, Blatt sets forth a model of personality and psychopathology that is unique in its systematic, multifaceted attempt to understand a person’s dynamic experiences. The model, which is framed by psychoanalytic theory and practice, also includes forays into cognitive–emotional development, social theory, and culture. The qualitative and quantitative examination of the model relies on observations and methods used in personality assessment, as well as in treatment process–outcome research. The combination of a complex and nuanced model, with a seemingly endless field of data to support it, contributes to this successful work. The book is centered on the idea that self-definition and interpersonal relatedness are essential interacting dimensions of a person’s experience. It offers a sweeping and systematic model of dynamic interactions between self and other, as they appear in personality development and organization, in psychopathology, and in treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Review of Awakening the dreamer: Clinical journeys.
Reviews the book, Awakening the dreamer: Clinical journeys by Philip M. Bromberg (see record 2006-08993-000). Engaging with the many dimensions of Bromberg’s absorbing writing opens the reader/clinician, of whatever theoretical persuasion, to other self states and new and “other” thoughts about the psychoanalytic process. Bromberg approaches psychoanalytic work in a deeply personal manner that enables him to articulate the reasons why it is not only acceptable but also entirely necessary for the analyst to engage personally with the patient. He also creates a personally impactful psychoanalytic reading experience for his readers. The engagement of reader and author also captures one of the major themes in Bromberg’s contribution: that healthy psychological functioning involves the freedom to access different self states, to live in the “polyphony” of the self rather than in fragmented dissociated and sequestered self states, and, through that polyphony, to find self-coherence and immediacy in living. This volume draws on contemporary developments in psychoanalysis, attachment theory, neuropsychology, child development, and Bromberg’s abiding faith in literature, poetry, and the imagination. It presents a thorough and fully formed statement of Bromberg’s unique body of work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Review of Handbook of evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy: Bridging the gap between science and practice.
Reviews the book, Handbook of evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy: Bridging the gap between science and practice by Raymond A. Levy and J. Stuart Ablon (see record 2008-14828-000). This book presents a lucid and timely review of research advances assessing the efficacy and effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies in treating many psychological disorders. From research on broad-based meta-analyses of the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy to close process analysis of therapist and patient interactions, the invited contributors of this volume translate complex research findings into clinically relevant information for clinicians working in the field. The volume is organized to lead the reader from broad-based reviews of psychodynamic psychotherapy outcome studies to examining in-session processes of patient– therapist interactions that affect the patient’s well-being, improvement, and personality change. In all, it lives up to its title and should be added to any clinician’s library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychoanalytic Psychology - Vol 27, Iss 1