Discussion: On Some Contributions of the Interpersonal Tradition to Contemporary Psychoanalytic Praxis

Abstract

Writers identified with the interpersonal psychoanalytic tradition are primarily responsible for initiating the relational turn in psychoanalysis: the evolution from an objectivist one-person model of analytic praxis to that of an intersubjective, two-person paradigm. The two papers discussed here focus on two qualities in the analyst-curiosity and spontaneity-and how these elements of the analyst's subjectivity have helped lead to a potential enrichment of patients' responsivity to analytic engagement.