The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern

321 Pages·2017·1.42 MB·English

Antioch University
AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive
Student & Alumni Scholarship, including
Dissertations & Theses
Dissertations & Theses
2014
The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern
Daniel Masler
Antioch University - Seattle
Follow this and additional works at:http://aura.antioch.edu/etds
Part of theClinical Psychology Commons,Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, and theSocial
Work Commons
Recommended Citation
Masler, Daniel, "The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern" (2014).Dissertations & Theses. 178.
http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/178
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses at AURA - Antioch
University Repository and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of AURA - Antioch
University Repository and Archive. For more information, please [email protected], [email protected].
The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern

A Dissertation

Presented to the Faculty of

Antioch University Seattle

By

Daniel Masler

June 2014
The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern

This dissertation, by Daniel Masler, has been approved by the Committee Members
signed below who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of the Antioch University
Seattle, at Seattle, WA in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY

Dissertation Committee:

________________________
Philip Cushman, Ph.D.
Chairperson

________________________
Mary Wieneke, Ph.D.

________________________
William J. Coburn, Ph.D.

________________________
June 9, 2014

ii
© Copyright by Daniel Masler, 2014
All Rights Reserved
iii
Abstract
The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern
Daniel Masler
Antioch University Seattle
Seattle, WA
No study has taken an updated and comprehensive review of Donnel Stern’s writings. An
investigation of his philosophical assumptions, locating Stern’s work socioculturally and
historically, along with an elucidation of Stern’s background in traditional psychoanalytic
literature and clinical practice, brings out the meanings and enigmas present in his
theories of dissociation, enactment, unformulated experience, multiple self-states, and
reflection. Stern has offered one of the best-integrated theoretical models in relational
psychoanalytic theory. An examination of his theories within the theoretical traditions to
which he makes claim (psychoanalytic, interpersonal, hermeneutic, postmodern, and
democratic) will help elucidate the challenge posed by relational psychoanalysis to the
Cartesian split and scientism in psychological study and praxis, while also attending to
important clinical implications of Stern’s model. The electronic version of this
dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd
Key words: relational psychoanalysis, Donnel Stern, technique, trauma, self,
dissociation, enactment, multiple self-states, multiplicity, unformulated experience,
iv
interpretive turn, hermeneutics, postmodernism, interpersonal psychotherapy, unbidden
experience.

v
Dedication
The story goes that there was once a Greek King Milinda who reigned in Bactria,
what is presently Northern Afghanistan. One of Alexander the Great’s men, Milinda was
well-trained in Aristotelian philosophy (Davids, 1890/1963).
One day, the king consulted the Buddhist teacher Nagasena, asking how long the
latter had been a monk. Nagesena replied, “I was ordained seven years ago.”
“So” argued the Bactrian King, “you are a monk, aren't you? Does that mean you
are you a monk for seven years, or is the monk you?”
Nagasena gazed on King Milinda’s shadow cast on the ground and across the
surface of a basin of water.
Nagesena asked, “Is that shadow separate from the King or is it the King
himself?”
King Milinda responded that it was neither. The shadow was owing to himself.
“Likewise” replied Nagasena, “these seven years of monkhood are on account of
me but they are not me.”
Likewise in the case of this dissertation, for me any achievements during these
past seven years may be on account of a number my own activities. However, what I
have done since beginning doctoral study and then this writing are in fact nothing if not
relational, part of a world of which I, too, have been part—but one that is also beyond
me. It is a world that has constantly surprised me.
There are, therefore, a number of people who have been essential for this work to
appear. I would like to give my deepest thanks for their unanticipated support. The great
generosity I have experienced during this period of my life has been a strong
vi
confirmation of the point of so much of this study, the point that we are indeed created
and re-created especially in caring relationships. In particular, I would like to express my
profound appreciation and gratitude to the following:
To the huge stamina of Deb Sand, for her skills as a librarian, an editor, and a
person endlessly inquisitive and open-minded. And to Florin Teodorescu. The two of
them have consistently been ready to pitch in when needed, and for as long as needed,
even when a new citation software program could not be coded in a single day, and
always with refuge available at any elevation.
To Jonathan Weinstein and Tamara Bailey, who have been there with humor,
interest, and always a friendly and rowdy table. And to Ruth and Dave Rosner, whose
discussions of this work and what it means to our lives, our experiences, and our histories
have been invaluable.
To my daughters, Kaya and Nora Masler, who managed to thrive throughout, to
laugh, and to share the intellectual struggle, the psychological conversations, the
challenges, the philosophical conundrums, even the characterological (that means
comical) critiques whenever needed.
To Fernando Vega, who welcomed me into the healthcare profession as soon as I
told him I was applying to it.
To William Coburn who did not hesitate to join onto this project practically the
day we met, who has been a warm and positive presence throughout, and whose laconic
words and questions stay with me. And to Mary Wieneke, for her understanding patience
and gentle thoroughness, brining warm encouragement even when things were tough. To
vii
Alejandra Suarez who has helped me realize a relational goal of a practice that is
multilingual and multicultural.
To Tien Liang who has always been ready and available, to have tea, to talk, to
challenge, and to find new perspectives together. To Andy Benjamin, who has been there
with ready discussion, bringing a compassionate rigor, always well-spiced with irony,
into the hardest points of psychotherapeutic work. To Piyale Comert, who brought me
and brought me back to a grounding of wisdom, curiosity, courage, and always to the
humility of listening, so important in this thought which is nothing if not a matter of
reflection, feeling, and experience.
And of course to Phil Cushman. Phil constantly, tirelessly demonstrated the kind
of critical but always interested and caring thought that is at the heart of relational
psychoanalysis and hermeneutics—Phil, who regularly amazed me with his ability to
show how hermeneutic practice and ideas are truly embodied in reflective action,
bringing the potential of finding a fresh bit of inspiration at any time, usually when least
expected, and when not in a conversation full of my interruptions then one intervened by
laughter.
viii
Table of Contents

Dedication...........................................................................................................................vi

I. Background.......................................................................................................................8

II. Literature Review..........................................................................................................16

III. Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................35

IV. Description of the Study..............................................................................................36

IV. Methods.......................................................................................................................37

V. General Research Questions.........................................................................................41

VI. Topics of Investigation: Enigmas................................................................................43

Enigma 1: Health...................................................................................................44

Enigma 2: The Locations of Things—The Shifty Nature of Self..........................47

Enigma 3: The Stormy Relationship Between
Psychotherapy and Moral Understandings............................................................50
VII. Findings-Discussion ..................................................................................................51

Chapter 1: The Health Enigma..............................................................................51

Foucault and the Discipline of Health.......................................................56

Introduction: The Panopticon and the Invisible Observer.........................56

The Clinical Gaze......................................................................................64
Mutual Enactments Through Anxiety and the Ritual of Healthcare........120

Chapter 2: Donnel Stern’s Unmapped Self..........................................................135

Approach..................................................................................................135

ix