The Interpersonal Unconscious

by David E. Scharff M.D., Jill Savege Scharff

Overview

This book presents the unconscious mind as the product of interpersonal interaction—in its formation and in its growth and development across the life cycle. Many clinical examples illustrate the theory of the interpersonal unconscious and its application to individual psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, couple and family therapy, and child therapy, and to teaching mental health professionals nationally and internationally.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765708700
Publisher:	Aronson, Jason Inc.
Publication date:	09/16/2011
Series:	The Library of Object Relations
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	560 KB

About the Author

David and Jill Scharff are co-founders of and supervising analysts at the International Psychotherapy Institute and clinical professors of psychiatry at Georgetown University Hospital. They are series editors of the Library of Object Relations at Jason Aronson and authors of many books including David's Refinding the Object and Reclaiming the Self and Jill's Projective and Introjective Identification and the Use of the Therapist's Self. They are in private practice as psychoanalysts with children and adults, couples, and families in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Table of Contents

1 Acknowledgments
2 Preface
Chapter 3 1. The Interpersonal Unconscious
Chapter 4 2.The Link
Chapter 5 3.The Link, the Field, and Object Relations
Chapter 6 4.The Link in Family Dynamics
Chapter 7 5.The Social Unconscious
Chapter 8 6.The Social Link in Group Dreaming
Chapter 9 7.Chaos Theory: Strange Attractors in Marriage
Chapter 10 8.Strange Attractors in Individual Dreaming
Chapter 11 9.The Interpersonal Unconscious and the Somatic Link
Chapter 12 10.Attachment Theory as Link and Context
Chapter 13 11.The Interpersonal Unconscious in Practice
14 Epilogue
15 References

Editorial Reviews

The new volume by David and Jill Scharff represents further development and an integration of their earlier contributions to psychoanalytic object relations theory, and the integration of psychoanalytic theory with new developments in adjacent scientific fields. Here, they present a broad panorama of the relationship of object relations theory, link theory and field theory, chaos theory, and up to date relevant findings in neurobiological and attachment research. They apply this complex original framework to contemporary clinical psychoanalytic approaches to individual treatment, couples therapy, and family therapy in a rich, clearly formulated illustration of the clinical relevance of this theoretical approach. It is an exciting exploration of the present expansion and challenges of theoretical and clinical psychoanalysis; thought provoking and practical at the same time.

Otto F. Kernberg

The great strength of the book is the coherence of the unfolding narrative of ideas that provide a framework for working with couples and families. The Scharffs, as they are often collectively referred to, have stayed true to their object relations foundations and maintain these as they explore influences from other disciplines and different parts of the world. They offer us a window into the journey they have made, and continue to make, as thinking clinicians, and by doing so, invite and sometimes challenge us to reflect on our own assumptions and methods.

The Journal of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis

From a European perspective, this wonderful book creates a bridge between subject and object, between internal and external reality, and between North American and European psychoanalysis. Through the authors’ deep, experiential knowledge of the international psychoanalytic field, it shows how contemporary psychoanalysts can harmoniously integrate different theories and techniques.

Stefano Bolognini