Table Of ContentRitual and Spontaneity
in the
Psychoanalytic Process
9780881633627
Ritual and Spontaneity in the Psychoanalytic Process: A Dialectical-Constructivist View
Size: 229 x 152mm Spine size: 17 mm Color pages: Binding: Paperback
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Ritual and Spontaneity
in the
Psychoanalytic Process
A Dialectical-Constructivist View
Irwin Z. Hoffman
First Published 1998 by The Analytic Press, Inc.
Published 2014 by Routledge
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Reprinted 2009 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Hoffman, Irwin Z.
Ritual and spontaneity in the psychoanalytic process :
A dlialectical-constructivist view /Irwin Z. Hoffman
p.em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-88163-362-3
1. Psychoanalytic therapy. 2. Psychoanalysis. I. Title.
BF 175.4.C68H641998
616 ..8 9'17--dc21
for Library of Congress 98-29422
CIP
ISBN-13: 978-1-315-80337-1 (ebk)
Contents
Acknowledgments ............................... vii
Introduction xi
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. The Dialectic of Meaning and Mortality
in the Psychoanalytic Process. ...............
2. Death Anxiety and Adaptation to
Mortality in Psychoanalytic Theory. .......... 31
3. The Intimate and Ironic Authority of
the Psychoanalyst's Presence 69
• • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • •
4. The Patient as Interpreter of the
Analyst's Experience ....................... 97
5. Toward a Social-Constructivist View
of the Psychoanalytic Situation 133
• • • • • • • • • • • 0 • •
6. Conviction and Uncertainty in
Psychoanalytic Interactions 163
• • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • •
7. Expressive Participation and
Psychoanalytic Discipline. .................. 179
v
vi Contents
;$>
8. Dialectical Thinking and
Therapeutic Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
9. Ritual and Spontaneity in the
Psychoanalytic Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
10. Constructing Good-Enough
Endings in Psychoanalysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 5
Index....................................... . 293
Acknowledgments
Since this book was written over a period of almost 20 years, it is
virtually impossible for me to identify and acknowledge all the peo
ple who offered helpful commentary on one or another chapter as
they appeared in their earlier versions. Contributions have come
from formal discussants, from the anonymous readers of papers sub
mitted for publication, and from students, patients, friends, col
leagues, and family members.
I will restrict myself to naming just a few people whose critical
commentary and support have been invaluable since the time that
the idea of the book itself began to take shape. First, the late Merton
Gill, with whom I worked closely for many years, especially in the
late 1970s and early 1980s, gave his own trademark kind of close
reading to many of the chapters, along with thought-provoking exten
sive discussions. Merton conveyed a sense of conviction regarding
the value of this work that helped overcome my own doubts.
Stephen Mitchell's personal and intellectual companionship and crit
ical readings have contributed immeasurably to my formulating and
thinking through ideas. Paul Stepansky, as Editor-in-Chief of The
Analytic Press, helped greatly to get the book launched when, in
1991, he sent me a detailed yet concise critique of my work up to
that time and invited me to submit a manuscript. Since then, his sug
gestions regarding readings as well as clinical and philosophical
issues have been extremely valuable. I am also grateful to him for his
patience since I believe one or two "deadlines" may have passed
since 1991. David Feinsilver has read and commented on many of
the chapters. His reflections, informed by a wide range of clinical
experience, including his many years working with schizophrenic
vii
viii Acknowledgments
patients at Chestnut Lodge, have been theoretically challenging and
illuminating. The entire book is informed by a longstanding dialogue
with Louis Fourcher. His multidisciplinary expertise, along with his
integrative, creative thinking, has enriched and contextualized my
own understanding of the psychoanalytic process throughout.
My wife Ann read every word of the manuscript several times in
the most painstaking way, commenting on everything from style to
substance, a labor of love if ever there was one since her time was
already taken up with her own work. I am indebted to Ann also for
creating the book's comprehensive index.
Among many others who have read chapters or sections and
offered constructive critiques as well as support I want especially to
thank (in alphabetical order) Neil Altman, Barbara Artson, Jessica
Benjamin, Susan Burland, Jody Davies, Darlene Ehrenberg,
Emmanuel Ghent, Joan Leska, Elizabeth Perl, Pauline Pinto, Owen
Renik, Suzanne Rosenfeld, Donnel Stern, and Patrick Zimmerman.
I would also like to mention the postdoctoral fellows in the psycho
analytic psychotherapy program at Northwestern University between
1985 and 1992 and those psychiatric residents and fellows at the
University of Illinois whom I have supervised over the years. These
people included some extraordinary talented therapists who would
sometimes imaginatively "apply" my point of view in ways that were
quite illuminating to me.
I am indebted also to my children. In the end, I managed to take
long enough to get the book done so that my son Mark, now off to
college, could contribute his own reflections on issues of mutual inter
est and even his own critical commentary on various parts of chap
ters that he found time to read. As for Daniel, about to enter high
school, his sense of humor and his own form of wisdom have added
perspective to the work. Seeing the development of both children has
contributed to my sense of the poignancy of the human appetite for
change and growth against a background of inescapable loss.
*
I am grateful to the periodicals cited below for permission to
republish these articles, with revisions: Chapter 2, "Death Anxiety
and Adaptation to Mortality in Psychoanalytic Theory," The Annual
of Psychoanalysis, 7:233-267, 1979; Chapter 3, "The Intimate and
Ironic Authority of the Psychoanalyst's Presence," The Psychoanalytic
Quarterly, 65:102-136, 1996; Chapter 4, "The Patient as Interpreter
of the Analyst's Experience," Contemporary Psychoanalysis,
Acknowledgments lX
19:389-422, 1983; Chapter 5, "[Discussion:] Toward a Social
Constructivist View of the Psychoanalytic Situation," Psychoanalytic
Dialogues, 1:74-105, 1991; Chapter 6, "Conviction and Uncertainty
in Psychoanalytic Interactions" (originally titled "Some Practical
Implications of a Social-Constructivist View of the Psychoanalytic
Situation"), Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 2:287-304, 1992; Chapter 7,
"Expressive Participation and Psychoanalytic Discipline," Contem
porary Psychoanalysis, 28:1-15, 1992; Chapter 8, "Dialectical
Thinking and Therapeutic Action [in the Psychoanalytic Process],"
The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 63:187-218, 1994.
