A Primer of Clinical Intersubjectivity

Under the rubric of 'intersubjectivity,' Natterson and Friedman range all those contemporary psychoanalytic perspectives in which therapist and patient are both portrayed as real people having complex conscious and unconscious impact on one another. This book will come as a great relief to many mental health professionals because it explains not only why every therapist has unavoidable emotional reactions to every patient, but how, if the therapist studies these reactions, they can actually become the most crucial took in furthering the therapeutic process. The Primer's tone is informal and down to earth and the text is packed with discussions of the kind of clinical dilemmas any practicing therapist faces daily. -- Donnel B. Stern, Ph.D., William Alanson White Institute and New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
This unique book makes an important contribution to the field of analytic therapy. Utilizing a question-and-answer approach that immediately engages the reader, the authors explicate the history, development, and clinical uses of intersubjectivity. Written in a simple, comprehensible, and yet clinically sophisticated style, this is a book that will enrich the skills of anyone engaged in the therapeutic encounter. -- Theodore J. Jacobs, M.D, training and supervising analyst, New York Psychoanalytic Institute and New York University Psychoanalytic Institute
Natterson and Friedman have given us a straightforward, clear, and clinically useful introduction to the crucial subject of intersubjectivity. They selectively review a vast literature sensibly and efficiently, and their presentation of the central concepts related to intersubjectivity unfolds with easy-to-follow logic. A Primer of Clinical Intersubjectivity is an impressive and readable summary of current thinking about the interplay and mutual influence between therapists' and patients' psychologies. This book establishes a platform that any psychotherapist can use to consider his or her clinical experience from an intersubjective perspective. -- Owen Renik, M.D., editor, Psychoanalytic Quarterly