On Learning From the Patient"On Learning from the Patient is concerned with the potential for psychoanalytic thinking to become self-perpetuating. Patrick Casement explores the dynamics of the helping relationship - learning to recognize how patients offer cues to the therapeutic experience that they are unconsciously in search of. Using many telling clinical examples, he illustrates how, through trial identification, he has learned to monitor the implications of his own contributions to a session from the viewpoint of the patient. He shows how, with the aid of this internal supervision, many initial failures to respond appropriately can be remedied and even used to the benefit of the therapeutic work. By learning to better distinguish what helps the therapeutic process from what hinders it, ways are discovered to avoid the circularity of pre-conception by analysts who aim to understand the unconscious of others. From this lively examination of key clinical issues, the author comes to see psychoanalytic therapy as a process of re-discovering theory - and developing a technique that is more specifically related to the individual patient. The dynamics illustrated here, particularly the processes of interactive communication and containment, occur in any helping relationship and are applicable throughout the caring professions. Patrick Casement's unusually frank presentation of his own work, aided by his lucid and non-technical language, allows wide scope for readers to form their own ideas about the approach to technique he describes. This Classic Edition includes a new introduction to the work by Andrew Samuels and, together with its sequel Further Learning from the Patient, will be an invaluable training resource for trainee and practising analysts or therapists."-- |
Contents
1 Preliminary thoughts on learning from the patient | 1 |
2 The internal supervisor | 25 |
a lapse and recovery | 50 |
4 Forms of interactive communication | 63 |
a clinical presentation | 88 |
6 Key dynamics of containment | 113 |
7 Analytic holding under pressure | 134 |
8 Processes of search and discovery in the therapeutic experience | 145 |
an issue of boundaries | 164 |
10 Theory rediscovered | 185 |
Winnicott and Bion
| 190 |
Appendix II The issues of confidentiality and of exposure by the therapist | 193 |
195 | |
199 | |
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Common terms and phrases
able allowed already analysis analytic anxiety asked attempt aware baby became become began beginning believe better Chapter child clinical comes communication containment continued cope countertransference course cues deal described develop dif¿cult discover Discussion dream earlier example expect experience experienced fail failure fear feelings felt Friday further give given hand happened holding identi¿cation illustrate important indicated interaction Internal supervision interpretation issue kind later leaving listening look meaning Miss months mother never object offer once particular past patient perhaps person play possible present pressures projective prompted realized recognize referred regard relating relationship remain represent response saying seemed sense sequence session similar someone speak supervisor telling therapeutic therapist therapy things thought told touch transference treatment trying unconscious understand wanted week Winnicott wish wondered