Transference

The theory of transference and the centrality of transference interpretation have been hallmarks of psychoanalysis since its inception.nbsp; But the time has come to subject traditional theory and practice to careful, critical scrutiny in the light of contemporary science.nbsp; So holds Joseph Schachter, whose Transference: Shibboleth or Albatross? undertakes this timely and thought-provoking task. nbsp; After identifying the weaknesses and inconsistencies in Freud's...
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The theory of transference and the centrality of transference interpretation have been hallmarks of psychoanalysis since its inception.nbsp; But the time has come to subject traditional theory and practice to careful, critical scrutiny in the light of contemporary science.nbsp; So holds Joseph Schachter, whose Transference: Shibboleth or Albatross? undertakes this timely and thought-provoking task.
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After identifying the weaknesses and inconsistencies in Freud's original premises about transference, Schachter demonstrates how contemporary developmental research across a variety of domains effectively overturns any theory that posits a linear deterministic relationship between early childhood and adult psychic functioning, including the adult patient's treatment behavior toward the analyst.nbsp; No less trenchantly, he shows how contemporary chaos theory complements developmental research by making the very endeavor of historical reconstruction - of backward prediction - suspect on logical grounds.nbsp; Nor, Schacter continues, does the clinical evidence normally adduced in support of transference theory provide the firm bedrock of data that most analysts suppose to exist.nbsp; What one finds, he holds, are endlessly reiterated claims of identifying determining historical antecedents sustained only by descriptions of current behaviors through a gloss of theory.
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Less a polemic than a call to order, Transference: Shibboleth or Albatross? is cogently argued and straightforwardly written.nbsp; It is destined to be a thorn in the side of analysts who resist change and a spur to those who seek to bring analytic theory into closer alignment with contemporary science in the interest of improves treatment efficacy.