Overview of PSA History

Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (APP)
2018-19, 1st Block — Mondays, 8:00-9:15pm
Scot Gibson, MD

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October 29, 2018 — The Relational Turn

[37 pages]

Maroda, K.J. (1999) Ch1, “On Seduction, Intellectualization, and the Bad Mother: Underlying Assumptions in Psychoanalysis” in Seduction, Surrender, and Transformation: Emotional Engagement in the Analytic Process. The Analytic Press. pp11-47.

Karen Maroda is a clear, no-nonsense writer from Wisconsin, and a leading thinker in what is known as ‘the relational turn’ in psychoanalysis. This book is a bit of a relational manifesto, and the first chapter hits many of the important theoretical points of the relational movement: the emphasis on emotions over intellect in the analytic relationship; the use of enactments; the use of self-disclosure; and the absolute necessity of emotional engagement on the part of the analyst.

Optional Reading

Benjamin, J. (2004). Beyond Doer and Done to: An Intersubjective View of Thirdness. Psychoanal Q., 73(1):5-46.

Jessica Benjamin is one of the most prominent figures in the relational world, as well as in feminist psychoanalysis (the two areas have much overlap). This article, one of her most cited, develops her idea of mutual recognition – ‘a relation in which each person experiences the other as a “like subject,” another mind who can be “felt with,” yet has a distinct, separate center of feeling and perception.’ The article also introduces the idea of thirdness, which is a frequently encountered idea in relational literature.