Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis (Hardcover)

Hardcover. There are more psychoanalytic theories today than anyone knows what to do with, and the heterogeneity and complexity of the entire body of psychoanalytic though have become staggering. In Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis, Stephen A. Mitchell weaves strands from the principal relational-model traditions (interpersonal psychoanalysis, British school object-relations theories, self psychology, and existential psychoanalysis) into a comprehensive approach to many of the knottiest problems and controversies in theoretical and clinical psychoanalysis.Mitchell's earlier book, Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory, co-authored with Jay Greenberg, set the stage for this current integration by providing a broad comparative analysis of important thinking on the nature of human relationships. In that classic study Greenberg and Mitchell distinguished between two basic paradigms: the drive model, in which relations with others are generated and shaped by the need for drive gratifications, and various relational models, in which relations themselves are taken as primary and irreducible. In Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis, Mitchell argues that the drive model has since outlived its usefulness. The relational model, on the other hand, has been developed piecemeal by different authors who rarely acknowledge and explore the commonality of their assumptions or the rich complementarity of their perspectives.In this bold effort at integrative theorizing, Mitchell draws together major lines of relational-model traditions into a unified framework for psychoanalytic thought, more economical than the anachronistic drive model and more inclusive than any of the singular relational approaches to the core significance of sexuality, the impact of early experience, the relation of the past to the present, the interpenetration of illusion and actuality, the centrality of the will, the repetition of painful experience, the nature of analytic situation, and the process of analytic change. As such, his book will be required reading for psychoanalytic scholars, practitioners, candidates in psychoanalysis, and students in the field. This is a marvelous book. Mitchell argues that over the past few decades psychoanalysis has undergone a paradigm shift. The change is nothing short of a revolution in thought which radically alters our understanding of the mind and human relationships.Mitchell is a persuasive writer who skilfully draws together the central ideas from object relations theory, interpersonal psychoanalysis and the self-psychologies. He argues that despite their many differences these 'newer' traditions have one central theme in common--they all stress the central importance of personal relationships and human interaction. In this new paradigm the focus of psychoanalytic study shifts away from the vicissitudes of the instincts to persons in their interactions with others.The book is scholarly and informative, but yet it is readable, and enjoyably so. Mitchell does a wonderful job in bringing together the relational concepts embedded in the work of Bowlby, Klein, Winnicott, Fairbairn, Kohut, and others.This is an excellent book which brings together the relational concepts that now characterise psychotherapy. This is the leading edge of psychoanalysis, and Mitchell's work certainly helps it to advance. -- C. R. Whyte "British Journal of Psychiatry" This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.…