Relational psychoanalysis
Encyclopedia
Relational psychoanalysis is a school of psychoanalysis
in the United States that emphasizes the role of real and imagined relationships with others in mental disorder and psychotherapy
. 'Relational psychoanalysis is a relatively new and evolving school of psychoanalytic thought considered by its founders to represent a "paradigm shift" in psychoanalysis'.
Relational psychoanalysis began in the 1980s as an attempt to integrate interpersonal psychoanalysis
's emphasis on the detailed exploration of interpersonal interactions with British object relations theory
's sophisticated ideas about the psychological importance of internalized relationships with other people. Relationalists argue that personality
emerges out of the matrix of early formative relationships with parents and other figures. Philosophically, relational psychoanalysis is closely allied with social constructionism
.
Relationalists, on the other hand, argue that the primary motivation of the psyche is to be in relationships with others. As a consequence early relationships, usually with primary caregivers, shape one's expectations about the way in which one's needs are met. Therefore, desires and urges cannot be separated from the relational contexts in which they arise. This does not mean that motivation is determined by the environment (as in behaviorism
), but that motivation is determined by the systemic interaction of a person and his or her relational world. Individuals attempt to recreate these early learned relationships in ongoing relationships that may have little or nothing to do with those early relationships. This recreation of relational patterns serves to satisfy the individuals' needs in a way that conforms with what they learned as infants. This recreation is called an enactment.
, instead emphazing the importance of creating a lively, genuine relationship with the patient. However, many others place a great deal of importance on the Winnicottian
concept of "holding" and are far more restrained in their approach, generally giving weight to well formulated interpretations made at what seems to be the proper time. Overall, relational analysts feel that psychotherapy
works best when the therapist focuses on establishing a healing relationship with the patient, in addition to focusing on facilitating insight. They believe that in doing so, therapists break patients out of the repetitive patterns of relating to others that they believe maintain psychopathology
. Noteworthy too is 'the emphasis relational psychoanalysis places on the mutual construction of meaning in the analytic relationship'.
Other important relational authors include Lewis Aron
, Hugo Bleichmar, Philip Bromberg
, Nancy Chodorow
, Susan Coates, Jody Davies, Emmanuel Ghent
, Adrienne Harris, Irwin Z. Hoffman, Karen Maroda, Stuart Pizer, Owen Renik, Ramón Riera, Daniel Schechter
, Martha Stark, Robert Stolorow
, Jeremy Safran and Jessica Benjamin
- the latter pursuing the 'goal of creating a genuinely feminist and philosophically informed relational psychoanalysis'. A significant historian and philosophical contributor is Philip Cushman.
basis: 'most identified relational analysts are psychologists, as are the founding professionals associated with initiating the relational movement'.
Moreover, in its emphasis on the developmental importance of other people, 'relational theory is merely stating the obvious' - picking up on 'a point that Freud made explicit throughout his theoretical corpus, which becomes further emphasized more significantly by early object relations therapists through to contemporary self psychologists
'.
Stephen A. Mitchell, (1993). Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books.
Stephen A. Mitchell, (1997). Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Stephen A. Mitchell, (2000). Relationality: From Attachment to Intersubjectivity. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Stephen A. Mitchell and Aron, Lewis. (1999). Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Greenberg, J. & Mitchell, S.A. (1983). Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Aron, Lewis (1996). A Meeting of Minds. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Curtis, R. C. & Hirsch. I. (2003). Relational Appraoches to Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. In Gurman, A. G. & Messer, S. B. Essential Psychotherapies. NY: Guilford.
Curtis, R. Coleman. (2008). Desire, Self, Mind and the Psychotherapies: Unifying Psychological Science and Psychoanlaysis. Lanham MD & NY: Jason Aronson
Cushman, Philip. (1996). Constructing the Self, Constructing America: A History of Psychotherapy . New York: Perseus Publishing.
Aron, L. and Harris, A. (2011), Relational Psychoanalysis IV: Expansion of Theory, Psychology Press
Aron, L. and Harris, A. (2011), Relational Psychoanalysis V: Evolution of Process, Psychology Press
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
in the United States that emphasizes the role of real and imagined relationships with others in mental disorder and psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. 'Relational psychoanalysis is a relatively new and evolving school of psychoanalytic thought considered by its founders to represent a "paradigm shift" in psychoanalysis'.
Relational psychoanalysis began in the 1980s as an attempt to integrate interpersonal psychoanalysis
Interpersonal psychoanalysis
Interpersonal psychoanalysis is based on the theories of Harry Stack Sullivan , an American psychiatrist, who believed that the details of a patient's interpersonal interactions with others can provide insight into the causes and cures of mental disorder.-Selective inattention:Sullivan proposed...
's emphasis on the detailed exploration of interpersonal interactions with British object relations theory
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
's sophisticated ideas about the psychological importance of internalized relationships with other people. Relationalists argue that personality
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
emerges out of the matrix of early formative relationships with parents and other figures. Philosophically, relational psychoanalysis is closely allied with social constructionism
Social constructionism
Social constructionism and social constructivism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena or objects of consciousness develop in social contexts. A social construction is a concept or practice that is the construct of a particular group...
.
Drives versus relationships
An important difference between relational theory and traditional psychoanalytic thought is in its theory of motivation, which would 'assign primary importance to real interpersonal relations, rather than to instinctual drives'. Freudian theory, with a few exceptions, proposes that human beings are motivated by sexual and aggressive drives. These drives are biologically rooted and innate. They are ultimately not shaped by experience.Relationalists, on the other hand, argue that the primary motivation of the psyche is to be in relationships with others. As a consequence early relationships, usually with primary caregivers, shape one's expectations about the way in which one's needs are met. Therefore, desires and urges cannot be separated from the relational contexts in which they arise. This does not mean that motivation is determined by the environment (as in behaviorism
Behaviorism
Behaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
), but that motivation is determined by the systemic interaction of a person and his or her relational world. Individuals attempt to recreate these early learned relationships in ongoing relationships that may have little or nothing to do with those early relationships. This recreation of relational patterns serves to satisfy the individuals' needs in a way that conforms with what they learned as infants. This recreation is called an enactment.
Techniques
When treating patients, relational psychoanalysts stress a mixture of waiting, and authentic spontaneity. Some relationally oriented psychoanalysts eschew the traditional Freudian emphasis on interpretation and free associationFree association
Free association may refer to:*Free association , a clinical technique of psychoanalysis devised by Sigmund Freud*Free Association, a musical group formed by David Holmes for the Code 46 soundtrack...
, instead emphazing the importance of creating a lively, genuine relationship with the patient. However, many others place a great deal of importance on the Winnicottian
Donald Winnicott
Donald Woods Winnicott was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory. He was a leading member of the British Independent Group of the British Psychoanalytic Society, and a close associate of Marion Milner...
concept of "holding" and are far more restrained in their approach, generally giving weight to well formulated interpretations made at what seems to be the proper time. Overall, relational analysts feel that psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
works best when the therapist focuses on establishing a healing relationship with the patient, in addition to focusing on facilitating insight. They believe that in doing so, therapists break patients out of the repetitive patterns of relating to others that they believe maintain psychopathology
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
. Noteworthy too is 'the emphasis relational psychoanalysis places on the mutual construction of meaning in the analytic relationship'.
Authors
'The most influential relational psychoanalyst has been Stephen A. Mitchell',, whose 1983 book, co-written with Jay R. Greenberg and called Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory is considered to be the first major work of relational psychoanalysis.Other important relational authors include Lewis Aron
Lewis Aron
Lewis Aron, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis who has made significant contributions to psychoanalysis, particularly within the specialty known as relational psychoanalysis. Dr...
, Hugo Bleichmar, Philip Bromberg
Philip Bromberg
Philip M. Bromberg, Ph.D. is an American Psychologist and Psychoanalyst who is actively involved in the training of mental health professionals throughout the United States. Dr. Bromberg is most widely known as the author of Standing in the Spaces: Essays on Clinical Process, Trauma, and...
, Nancy Chodorow
Nancy Chodorow
Nancy Julia Chodorow is a feminist sociologist and psychoanalyst. She has written a number of influential books, including The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender ; Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory ; Femininities, Masculinities, Sexualities: Freud and Beyond ;...
, Susan Coates, Jody Davies, Emmanuel Ghent
Emmanuel Ghent
Emmanuel Ghent was a pioneering composer of electronic music and a psychiatric practitioner, researcher, and teacher.-Biography:Emmanuel Ghent was born on May 15, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec. He grew up in Montreal and attended McGill University to study medicine. After graduating, he moved to New...
, Adrienne Harris, Irwin Z. Hoffman, Karen Maroda, Stuart Pizer, Owen Renik, Ramón Riera, Daniel Schechter
Daniel Schechter
Daniel S. Schechter is an American psychiatrist currently living in Geneva, Switzerland. He is known for his clinical work and research on intergenerational transmission or "communication" of violent trauma and related psychopathology involving parents and very young children...
, Martha Stark, Robert Stolorow
Robert Stolorow
Robert D. Stolorow is a psychoanalyst, well known for his works on intersubjectivity theory. Important books include: Faces in a Cloud , Structures of Subjectivity , Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach , Contexts of Being , Working Intersubjectively , Worlds of Experience , and...
, Jeremy Safran and Jessica Benjamin
Jessica Benjamin
Jessica Benjamin is an American psychoanalyst and feminist.She is currently on the faculty of New York University's Postdoctoral Psychology Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy...
- the latter pursuing the 'goal of creating a genuinely feminist and philosophically informed relational psychoanalysis'. A significant historian and philosophical contributor is Philip Cushman.
Critique
The objection has been made that 'Relational psychoanalysis is an American phenomenon, with a politically powerful and advantageous group of members advocating for conceptual and technical reform' from a psychologistPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
basis: 'most identified relational analysts are psychologists, as are the founding professionals associated with initiating the relational movement'.
Moreover, in its emphasis on the developmental importance of other people, 'relational theory is merely stating the obvious' - picking up on 'a point that Freud made explicit throughout his theoretical corpus, which becomes further emphasized more significantly by early object relations therapists through to contemporary self psychologists
Self psychology
Self Psychology is a school of psychoanalytic theory and therapy created by Heinz Kohut and developed in the United States at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. Self psychology explains psychopathology as being the result of disrupted or unmet developmental needs...
'.
See also
Literature
Stephen A. Mitchell, (1988). Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis: An Integration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Stephen A. Mitchell, (1993). Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books.
Stephen A. Mitchell, (1997). Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Stephen A. Mitchell, (2000). Relationality: From Attachment to Intersubjectivity. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Stephen A. Mitchell and Aron, Lewis. (1999). Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Greenberg, J. & Mitchell, S.A. (1983). Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Aron, Lewis (1996). A Meeting of Minds. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Curtis, R. C. & Hirsch. I. (2003). Relational Appraoches to Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. In Gurman, A. G. & Messer, S. B. Essential Psychotherapies. NY: Guilford.
Curtis, R. Coleman. (2008). Desire, Self, Mind and the Psychotherapies: Unifying Psychological Science and Psychoanlaysis. Lanham MD & NY: Jason Aronson
Cushman, Philip. (1996). Constructing the Self, Constructing America: A History of Psychotherapy . New York: Perseus Publishing.
Aron, L. and Harris, A. (2011), Relational Psychoanalysis IV: Expansion of Theory, Psychology Press
Aron, L. and Harris, A. (2011), Relational Psychoanalysis V: Evolution of Process, Psychology Press