Understanding Therapeutic Action

Psychodynamic Concepts of Cure

Lawrence Lifson, Lawrence E. Lifson

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317907633
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Most of the existing psychodynamic literature approaches the treatment process from one particular theoretical perspective or another. Yet, what contemporary psychotherapists need most is practical information that transcends individual perspectives. After all, they must be able to treat patients who suffer from structural conflict, structural deficit, and relational conflict, and they must be able to understand the theories of therapeutic action associated with these concepts of psychopathology in relation to one another.

Originally published in 1996, Understanding Therapeutic Action: Psychodynamic Concepts of Cure both surveys different theories of therapeutic action and offers an integrative model of treatment. Editor Lawrence E. Lifson has brought together contributors who are among the leading theoreticians and practitioners of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Their chapters' cover all the major perspectives on therapeutic action and are organized into sections covering structural and object relations theories; the self as the focus of therapeutic action; and an integrative approach to the concept of cure. The emphasis throughout is on the translation of theory into clinical practice, with attention given to the contributions of patient and therapist alike in the curative process.

Providing clinicians with a comprehensive overview and synthesis of the different models of therapeutic action, this collection is an illuminating exercise in comparative psychotherapy and a valuable tool for enhancing the applicability and effectiveness of clinical work.

Index

A

Abstinence, 141–142. see also Therapeutic alliance

ego psychology and, 218

Adler, G., 35, 38, 70, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 83

Adolescence. see Character pathology in adolescence

Affect, 90, 94, 204. see also Affective related topics; Growth processes; Trauma

attachment and, 209, 213, 217

cognition and, 207, 213

communication and, 207–208, 213, 217

competence and, 209–210, 213

development and, 209, 213, 229–230

Freud and, 205

intrapsychic vs. interpersonal dilemma and, 219–222

memory and, 207, 213

negotiation and, 208, 213

ownership and, 208, 213

relational (interpersonal) perspective, 218, 219, 221, 232–233

repetition compulsion and, 210, 212, 213

role of, 217–219

self psychology and, 220–221, 227

wish and, 206–207, 213

Affective development, 229

optimal responsiveness and, 146, 149–150

Affective dimension, memory

categorization and, 130–131

Affective participation

case illustration, 222–224

emergence and, 226–229

lingering vs. malingering and, 224–226

parent-infant relationship and, 229–232

Alexander, F., 99n

Alonso, A., 6, 18

Analytic process, 26, 27. see also Analytic related topics; Psychoanalysis; Psychotherapy; Therapeutic related topics

analyst’s character and, 30–31

countertransference and, 31–32

the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Preface
• I. Therapeutic Structure and Structural Change
• II. The Self as the Focus of the Therapeutic Action
• III. An Integrative Approach to the Concept of Cure
• Index