The Power of the Analyst

Abstract

The previous chapter was concerned with the way in which the aims of psychoanalytic psychotherapy express certain political assumptions, either through an explicit formulation of particular images of mental health, or through a more subtle neglect of the limitations placed by social structures on possibilities for individual change. In the final section, analytic practice which takes seriously the power relations that can be found both within and outside the therapeutic setting was advocated. These debates, which take as a starting point the ‘analytic attitude’ of distanced, apparently neutral commentary, are replicated in discussions of analytic technique and therapeutic mechanisms. As in the previous chapter, the general argument adopted here is that in the intensity of the interpersonal exploration produced by psychoanalytic psychotherapy lies a potential for revealing and challenging deep-rooted personality structures that are themselves connected to social forces. However, not all psychoanalytic approaches have this potential to the same degree: they vary in their conceptualisation of the therapeutic process just as in their conceptualisation of therapeutic aims, with some approaches adopting more consolatory orientations while others are harsher but more challenging.