Interpreting Interpretation.

Interpretation of the latent meaning of manifest content is the core of the traditional approach to psychoanalytic treatment. The main purpose of such interpretation is to enhance the patient's self-knowledge, in particular his or her awareness of unconscious wishes and their embeddedness in inner conflicts. An assumption of classical psychoanalysis is that veridical interpretations-as Freud put it, interpretations that tally with what is real in the patient-will be especially effective therapeutically. These basic assumptions have been called into question, as reflected in such concepts as "narrative truth" and the overriding importance of the patient's "assured conviction" regarding interpretations. Also called into question is the therapeutic value of "deep" interpretations intended to uncover repressed impulses. To an important extent, these have been replaced by interpretations of defensive processes just below the surface of consciousness, and interpretations that make connections among different experiences, both of which are intended to help the patient understand how his or her mind works. There is also an increased emphasis on nonsemantic aspects of interpretation, as well as some degree of skepticism toward the therapeutic value of interpretation itself, along with an increased emphasis on the implicit interpretive aspects of the therapeutic relationship. Finally, representative research is presented on the relation between transference interpretation and therapeutic outcome.

Psychoanalysis and the law.

The paper discusses Freud's view of the law as the implementation of collective violence on the individual violator. I focus on the implications of the link between the superego (as the source of moral judgment) and the aggressive drive and suggest that we need to be ever vigilant regarding the danger of employing the law as a disguised means of taking pleasure in collective violence. The paper also discusses Freud's conception of personal responsibility, according to which we are responsible for all our behavior, including unconsciously motivated behavior (such as slips and dreams). However, the kind of responsibility Freud has in mind is not the moral responsibility of blameworthiness or praiseworthiness, but rather responsibility in the sense that, whether or not acknowledged, all our behavior reflects our personal desires and motives.

The implications of conceptual critiques and empirical research on unconscious processes for psychoanalytic theory.

The paper examines the implications of conceptual critiques and empirical research on psychoanalytic formulations of unconscious processes. Different conceptions of unconscious processes and states are discussed: as markers for brain states, as unformulated and not-spelled-out fleeting experiences, and as implicit knowledge. The author notes and discusses the interpersonal and interactional aspects of unconscious processes in classical theory as well as in contemporary formulations. Representative examples of empirical research on unconscious processes are presented and their implications for psychoanalytic conceptions are examined. The author then discusses the conception of unconscious processes that emerges in view of conceptual critiques, empirical research findings, and clinical phenomena. Finally, the emphasis of both early and late Freudian theory on integration of various aspects of the personality rather than (or at least in addition to) on conscious versus unconscious is noted, and various ways of understanding what it means to make the unconscious conscious are discussed.

Systematic empirical research versus clinical case studies: a valid antagonism?

This paper considers the issue of systematic empirical research versus clinical case studies raised by Hoffman (2009). A rebuttal of Hoffman's arguments is offered, followed by an argument that each method addresses itself to different questions and that posing them in opposition is not fruitful. Finally, criteria and requirements of the case study method are proposed that, if met, would enhance its evidential value.

Hostile attributional bias, early abuse, and social desirability in reporting hostile attributions among Chinese immigrant batterers and nonviolent men.

This study examined differences in reporting hostile attributional bias (HAB) between court-referred Chinese immigrant batterers and a nonviolent community sample. It measured social desirability (SD) in their reporting of HAB by including an SD measure and a covert indirect measure of HAB. Further, it explored the relationship between HAB and childhood exposure to violence. The batterers scored lower on the overt measure but higher on the covert measure of HAB. Their scores on the overt measure were negatively correlated with their SD scores. Childhood exposure to violence was positively correlated with HAB among the batterers but not among the nonviolent men. The role of HAB in intimate partner violence needs more research, and future studies and batterer interventions need to consider SD in assessing and addressing HAB.

Intentional attunement: mirror neurons and the neural underpinnings of interpersonal relations.

The neural circuits activated in a person carrying out actions, expressing emotions, and experiencing sensations are activated also, automatically via a mirror neuron system, in the observer of those actions, emotions, and sensations. It is proposed that this finding of shared activation suggests a functional mechanism of "embodied simulation" that consists of the automatic, unconscious, and noninferential simulation in the observer of actions, emotions, and sensations carried out and experienced by the observed. It is proposed also that the shared neural activation pattern and the accompanying embodied simulation constitute a fundamental biological basis for understanding another's mind. The implications of this perspective for psychoanalysis are discussed, particularly regarding unconscious communication, projective identification, attunement, empathy, autism, therapeutic action, and transference-countertransference interactions.

Attachment, psychotherapy, and assessment: a commentary.

This article, a commentary, discusses questions and issues generated by 7 articles on the relationship between attachment theory and research, and psychotherapy and clinical assessment. The issues include the following: attachment-based therapeutic interventions for adults and child-caregiver dyads, change in attachment status as an outcome goal of therapeutic intervention, attachment pattern as a moderator of treatment outcome and therapeutic approach, clinical use of attachment measures, narrative/discourse and self-report measures of attachment patterns, and application of attachment theory to new areas. In the discussion of each of these issues, suggestions are made for future research.

Desarrollos contemporáneos recientes en psicoanálisis: una evaluación crítica / Recent developments in Psychoanalysis: a critical evaluation

La revisión que hace el autor de las vicisitudes que experimentó en los últimos tiempos la teoría pscoanalítica sin duda estimulará el desarrollo de nuevas ideas. Entre otros examina los siguientes temas: Las relaciones objetales y sus nexos con la evolución de la psicología del yo. Resumen y evaluación crítica de la psicología del sí mismo propuesta por Kohut. El concepto de narcisismo y la teoría de las relaciones objetales. El concepto psicoanalítico de angustia. La no concordancia del concepto freudiano de instinto o pulsión con los datos actuales. Indagación acerca de las raíces innatas y autónomas de las tendencias a la búsqueda de objeto. La subordinación de los motivos, sexuales y agresivos, y su vinculación con la organización del sí mismo. Las consecuencias de los recientes descubrimientos psicoanalíticos teóricos con respecto a los modelos básicos del yo y el ello

Desarrollos contemporáneos recientes en psicoanálisis: una evaluación crítica / Recent developments in Psychoanalysis: a critical evaluation

La revisión que hace el autor de las vicisitudes que experimentó en los últimos tiempos la teoría pscoanalítica sin duda estimulará el desarrollo de nuevas ideas. Entre otros examina los siguientes temas: Las relaciones objetales y sus nexos con la evolución de la psicología del yo. Resumen y evaluación crítica de la psicología del sí mismo propuesta por Kohut. El concepto de narcisismo y la teoría de las relaciones objetales. El concepto psicoanalítico de angustia. La no concordancia del concepto freudiano de instinto o pulsión con los datos actuales. Indagación acerca de las raíces innatas y autónomas de las tendencias a la búsqueda de objeto. La subordinación de los motivos, sexuales y agresivos, y su vinculación con la organización del sí mismo. Las consecuencias de los recientes descubrimientos psicoanalíticos teóricos con respecto a los modelos básicos del yo y el ello

Desarrollos contemporáneos recientes en psicoanálisis: una evaluación crítica / Recent developments in Psychoanalysis: A critical evaluation

El autor realiza un amplio análisis de las vicisitudes que experimentó en los últimos años la teoría psicoanalítica. Entre los temas que se examinan merecen mencionarse: las relaciones objetales y sus nexos con la evolución de la psicología del yo, resumen y evaluación crítica de la psicología del si-mismo propuesta por Kohut, el concepto de narcisismo y la teoría de las relaciones objetales, el concepto psicoanalítico de angustia, la no concordancia del concepto freudiano de instinto o pulsión con los datos actuales, indagación acerca de las raíces innatas y autónomas de las tendencias a la búsqueda de objeto, la subordinación de los motivos, exuales y agresivos, y su vinculación con la organización del sí-mismo, las consecuencias de los recientes descubrimientos psicoanalítcios teóricos con respecto a los modelos básicos del yo y el ello

Theoretical and clinical shifts in psychoanalysis.

Shifts in psychoanalytic theory and in conceptions of psychoanalytic practice over the past 15 years are examined, with particular attention to the advent and expansion of Kohutian self-psychology within the psychoanalytic movement. It is concluded that the nature of psychoanalysis is sufficiently heterogeneous that any attempt to encompass or define the field as a whole--rather than to analyze particular formulations and developments within the field--is doomed to failure.