Field Perspectives in Clinical Practice

A Dialogue between Relational Psychoanalysis, Post-Bionian Psychoanalysis, and Gestalt Therapy

Gianni Francesetti, Michela Gecele, Paolo Migone

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781040356494
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

This book is the outcome of fruitful engagement between relational psychoanalysis, neo-Bionian psychoanalysis, and Gestalt therapy on a contemporary growing edge of clinical practice: field theory.

What is happening in contemporary clinical practice that seems to be pushing theories towards a field perspective? Clinical issues are complex phenomena—they cannot be separated from social and cultural changes. Suffering, clients, and therapists change over time, and with them so do the needs and theoretical approaches of clinical professionals, so as to be able to update and adjust care practices.

This book is an independent, yet common study, which through the field concept explores what complexity theories and dynamic systems theories have described as "emerging phenomena," or what phenomenological philosophy categorized as phenomenal field, pathic aesthetics, and atmospherology, or, more generally, our understanding of the relationship between clinical practice and critical thinking and of the centrality of the individual, as developed by postmodern thinkers.

With multiple professional perspectives and essential clinical material, this is key reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Endorsement Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Contributors
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Working in the interpersonal field: Two clinical narratives
• Chapter 2 Field perspective in relational psychoanalysis: Response to Donnel Stern
• Chapter 3 Post-Bionian field theory and the ethical refounding of psychoanalysis
• Chapter 4 Field perspective in Gestalt therapy: Is a dialogue possible with post-Bionian psychoanalysis?
• Chapter 5 “Where everything shivers and speaks”: Precious fragments of experience
• Chapter 6 “Necessary light that makes me the chosen host”: Field theories in Gestalt therapy and clinical practice
• Chapter 7 Discussion for Gianni Francesetti and Michela Gecele
• Chapter 8 Anna: A clinical case study
• Chapter 9 Affects and dissociative field: Discussion of the clinical case by Paola Zarini
• Chapter 10 Anna KO
• Chapter 11 “We wish you a good life, Anna!”: A field-theory-informed view of Gestalt therapy
• Chapter 12 What we see and do depends on the point from where we look
• Chapter 13 Field and psychotherapy: Attempting a new paradigm
• Chapter 14 Historical remarks on the relationship between Gestalt therapy and psychoanalysis
• Index