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This paper consists of a discussion of Neil Altman's ‘Psychoanalysis and war’, which was conducted online through PsyBC in the fall of 2006. Discussants were a group of psychoanalytically oriented thinkers chosen by the author and Nancy Hollander, the author of the other paper included in the discussion. The paper represents the full discussion with only minor edits to correct typographical errors and improve clarity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper of the Change Process Study Group of Boston addresses an unsolved conceptual problem: How does one codify intersubjective states? The transfer of concepts from infant research to the adult therapeutic dyad is more than an analogy in that certain primitive aspects of mind appear in infancy, but persist throughout life. The regulation of consciousness is one salient example. The adult therapeutic dyad and the mother–infant dyad can be viewed as self-regulating dynamic systems that are also self-reparative. The concept of implicit relational knowledge is offered as an alternative way of thinking about internal object relations. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What emotional experience settles a disturbed state of mind? In this paper I use the work of three psychoanalytic clinicians (John Steiner, Eric Brenman and Henri Rey) to describe the negative state of mind of a patient and draw on clinical material to illustrate my efforts to settle deep emotional disturbance. Recognizing the size of the emotional task by conceptualizing the depth and breadth of the pathological organization, along with thinking carefully about the ingredients of a ‘strengthening introject’ and locating an ‘introjective site’, taking into account the developmental disparity between therapist and patient are all seen as essential counter‐transference processes required to facilitate movement from a bad to a good state of mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary · This article looks at the richness inherent in our life experience and engages on a journey to examine this richness in the light of two experiences (or epiphanies) on a clinical training course. It demonstrates how, as a result of continued refection and reflexive analysis, my understanding of these experiences transformed over a period of time. · The field of inquiry was a training in psychoanalytic counselling. My ongoing analysis of the experiences provided an evaluation of some key features of that culture and the nature of clinical training, particularly in psychoanalytic milieu. · The article concludes with a discussion about the academic culture in which I am now working and the way in which it influences my writing style (in, for example, this article). It concludes that the discourse of this culture prevents us from reaching our creative spiritual core and examines how we can overcome this limitation. In this paper I will argue that investigating our professional experiences can enrich our understanding, widen our perspective, transform our inner lives and create an endless source of discovery about ourselves, society and the professional discursive systems that we inhabit. I will call such events, after Denzin's work in 1989, epiphanies. In order to develop the theme I will give an account of my own experience of two such epiphanies on a psychoanalytic training course in counselling. I will then present my reflexive analysis of these events over the years, including my reflections on the peer review comments for this paper, and finish with some questions arising out of the study relating to the current status of nursing as an academic profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times much has been made of integrative tendencies and common ground between therapeutic orientations, previously locked into highly oppositional frames. This is evident in the rapprochement between psychoanalysis and cognitive-behavioural therapy in adult mental health. It is a trend that is also evident in the shifting relationship between systemic and psychoanalytic orientations. This paper begins with an overview of factors influencing the wider integrative ethos before considering the specific circumstance of the relationship between systemic family therapy and psychoanalysis. The paper considers both the past history of oppositionality between the two orientations as well as some current developments that might facilitate a more creative dialogue. Particular attention is paid to issues of similarity and difference between the therapeutic relationship in systemic family therapy and the psychoanalytic framework of the transference/countertransference. Implications for therapeutic technique are explored. The aim is not to minimize difference but to encourage cross-fertilization between these therapeutic orientations in the interest of patients/families who may benefit from an integrated response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]