The Texture of Treatment: On the Matter of Psychoanalytic Technique

305 Pages·2003·19.753 MB·English

by  Herbert J. Schlesinger

The Texture of Treatment
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T he Texture
of Treatment
On the Matter of
Psychoanalytic
Technique
Herbert J. Schlesinger
THE ANALYTIC PRESS
2003 Hillsdale, NJ London
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© 2003 by The Analytic Press, Inc., Publishers
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form: by photostat, microform, electronic retrieval system, or any
other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by The Analytic Press, Inc.
101 West Street, Hillsdale, NJ 07642
www.analyticpress.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schlesinger, Herbert J
The texture of treatment: on the matter of psychoanalytic technique /
Herbert J. Schlesinger
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-88163-382-8
1. Psychoanalysis—Methodology. I. Title
RC506.S2965 2003
616.89’17—dc22
2003057875
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
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I dedicate this book to my wife, Ann H. Appelbaum, M.D., whose gentle, persis
tent encouragement finally paid off. If only she had allowed herself to be the
nagging shrew my procrastinating seemed designed to evoke, this might have
been a second or even third edition.
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Acknowledgments
I want to acknowledge first the contribution of my wife, Ann H.
Appelbaum, M.D. Her steadfast encouragement for me to get on with
finishing this book and willingness to overlook the many undone house-
hold chores were instrumental, especially when I would much rather
have shoveled and lifted than write. It does not detract from her contri-
bution to note that writing does not deprive us of each other’s company,
for we write at adjacent desks, each trying to set a good example for the
other.
Stanley Goodman, M.D., old friend and colleague, is the sounding
board every writer hopes for. He read and commented forcefully, if gen-
erally approvingly, on every early version of these chapters, and I adopted
his suggestions gratefully. I offered to include his address here so that
any reader with a complaint could take it to the proper source, but, with
modesty exceeded only by good judgment, he declined.
Phil Holzman read several of the chapters, and I profited from his
critical observations. Bob Schlesinger caught some obscure allusions and
infelicitous expressions that I had missed. If any remain—finders keepers.
Over the years, several colleagues, notably Dick Simons, Cal Narcisi,
and Diana Diamond, and many students have urged me to clean out my
desk drawers of unpublished lectures and put them together as a book.
This book draws on the ideas, mostly freshly written, in those lectures
and should quiet their urging.
John Kerr has been after me to write this book for more years than I
care to acknowledge. When finally we arrived at a serious commitment
to it, he stayed with the project as editor and matched encouragement
with a keen eye and sense of form as well as content. The book owes
much to his good taste and clinical as well as literary judgment.
Once I had submitted the manuscript, Eleanor Starke Kobrin picked
up where John had left off. She caught the slips we had missed and asked
the penetrating questions that familiarity with the text had led us to over-
look. As a former editor, I appreciate how important is careful editing to
converting a good manuscript into an even better book. In both John and
vii
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viii Acknowledgments
Lenni I found the indispensable passion for quality that marks the best
among editors.
Finally, I must acknowledge the indispensable contribution of Rudy
Ekstein, who surely will recognize that the point of view of this book
was inspired by his ancient tutelage and will recall that in our extended
conversations was the Ur-source of many of the ideas in it.
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Contents
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 In the Beginning ... Was Technique 1
Chapter 2 The Systems Approach 13
Chapter 3 Working Principles of Technique 23
Chapter 4 Transference and the Process of Interpretation 47
Chapter 5 Transference and Countertransference 63
Chapter 6 Resistance 81
Chapter 7 Dreams: Royal Road or Scenic Route? 103
Chapter 8 From Listening to Interpretation 117
Chapter 9 The Process of Defense 127
Chapter 10 On Therapeutic Activity 147
Chapter 11 Questioning, Con and Pro 155
Chapter 12 Responding to Patients’ Questions 171
Chapter 13 The Process Point of View 179
Chapter 14 The Place of Regression in Psychoanalysis 189
Chapter 15 The Challenge of Regression 199
Chapter 16 Severe Regression 207
Chapter 17 Analyzing in the Middle Phase 221
Chapter 18 Whether and How to Begin a Psychoanalysis 231
Chapter 19 The Optimal Therapeutic Relationship 249
Chapter 20 Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 259
Chapter 21 Analyzing and Life Change 267
Chapter 22 Conclusion: Interpretation and Change 277
References 283
Index 288
ix
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