Conflict in contemporary clinical work: a self psychological perspective.

The authors review the history of controversy regarding conflict versus deficit. They suggest that conflict, when conceptualized within the theory of self psychology, may arise in one of two ways, either: (1) along with deficit when caregivers are unable to provide developmentally needed selfobject functions, and, at the same time, these needed caregivers are also feared; these conflicts are unconscious and potentially pathogenic. Or: (2) conflicts may appear secondary to deficit. Such conflicts also require the analysis of selfobject transferences that have arisen on the basis of the underlying deficit. A clinical example demonstrates that deficit related to the oedipal phase may give rise to oedipal-selfobject transferences, requiring their working through for a successful termination.

The elusive concept of the psychoanalytic process.

Although the term psychoanalytic process is frequently used, there is no consensual definition of its meaning. Some authors use it to designate a recognizable set of experiences within psychoanalysis. Others, a majority, use it as a synonym for the entire psychoanalytic experience, describing in detail what analysts do to achieve their goals. A range of views may be found between these extremes. A distinction is drawn here between the structure and content of the psychoanalytic process, which is regarded as a specific, definable entity--a red thread--within the psychoanalytic treatment experience as a whole, consisting of a microprocess and a macroprocess. The former is predominantly an amalgam of the patient's and the analyst's highly subjective experiences and entanglements, while the latter is predominantly an amalgam of the infantile and childhood origin of the patient's difficulties, as well as the analyst's conception of these difficulties based on a preferred theory. These ideas are used to formulate a definition of the psychoanalytic process based on clinical experience and are traced here primarily through lessons learned from a patient, Mr. K, over the course of a long and arduous analysis.

The function of theory in psychoanalysis: a self psychological perspective.

Although aware of a lack of consensus in the literature about the exact nature of the relationship between psychoanalytic theory and the clinical process, the authors contend that the analyst's theory(ies) are inextricably intertwined with the treatment process. Two clinical case examples are presented to illustrate this and to highlight the authors' discussion of the empathic mode of listening and its role in self psychology, as well as the self-object transferences and the interpretive process in self psychology.

Michael Balint then and now: a contemporary appraisal.

This paper pays tribute to Michael Balint's psychoanalytic contributions, thus far neglected in the United States. To assess the current relevance of some of Balint's pioneering ideas, the paper highlights some of Balint's core concepts. These gain in importance and enduring relevance when viewed from the perspective of Heinz Kohut's psychoanalytic self psychology. The "basic fault" and the unsurpassed depth and subtlety of Balint's description of the archaic transferences are examples of what are of lasting value in his work.