The Impact of Psychoanalytic Theory and a Two-Person Psychology on the Empathising Analyst
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8971545 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marvin D Wasserman (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 449-464 |
| Publication date | 1999-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1516/0020757991598846 |
| PMID | 10407744 |
| OpenAlex | W1984161277 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
Traditionally 'empathy' has been viewed from the perspective of a one-person psychology and 'the facts' discovered via empathic understanding have been thought to reflect accurately what the patient was experiencing, ideally uncontaminated by anything coming from the analyst. In contrast to this position, the author argues that the analyst always actively influences what he discovers empathically. Specifically, the analyst's theoretical biases always shape what he empathically understands. The contributions of Owen Renik and, to a lesser extent, Irwin Hoffman are critically examined, with a focus on how their two-person perspectives shape the analyst's ability to empathise. Their clinical stances, which emphasise the role of corrective emotional experiences and countertransference enactments, are compared to what the author calls an 'integrated stance', which attempts to integrate elements of one- and two-person psychologies while retaining interpretation as primary in bringing about change. It is concluded that the techniques advocated by Renik and Hoffman potentially restrict empathic understanding in two ways. First, they take positions that limit the development of regressive transference reactions. Second, because they de-emphasise monitoring countertransference urges, they actively facilitate more frequent countertransference enactments, which then may not be interpreted as fully as by the analyst working from an 'integrated stance'. Clinical examples are used to illustrate differences between these two stances
Cognitive psychology · Countertransference · Empathy · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Interpretation (philosophy · Perspective (graphical · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology
Case reports in a two-person world.
Cartesian and post-Cartesian trends in relational psychoanalysis
Case reports in a two-person world
Enactment controversies
Some Notes on the Epistemology of Empathy
Beyond transference, countertransference, the silences and the opinion
Beyond transference, countertransference, the silences and the opinion1
Irreducible subjectivity and interactionism
The Problem of Self-Disclosure in Psychoanalysis
From Monologue To Dialogue
How Can We Know What We Need To Know? Reflections On Clinical Judgment Formation
Musings on Psychoanalytic Education
| Citations per year | 0.48 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2001 - 2026 (26) |
| Highly cited | No |