Two Cultures, Two Nations - Implications for Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic Perspectives, 2012

The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2019

Feldman's (1997) notion of the analyst's involvement in the process of projective identification; Steiner's (1994) view of analyst-centred and patient-centred interventions; Kris's (1990) notion of functional neutrality; and Spezzano's (2007) notion of a home for the mind. This is a rich and fascinating discussion for analysts at all levels of clinical experience. Cooper compels the reader to struggle with his or her use of clinical theories and with attempts to reconcile them with each other and with ongoing clinical work. This paper, particularly the term "post-pluralistic," touched off a lively discussion on IJP Open and is intimately connected with a series of papers in JAPA 2017, Volume 5: The Analyst's Use of Multiple Models in Clinical Work. In his introductory comments, Zimmer (2017) observes that contemporary theoretical discourse has moved "toward more open comparison of personal models among individuals, at least in the realm of clinical practice. This kind of discourse places a greater responsibility on the individual analyst to both develop and articulate a personal core model, but ultimately, I believe, it allows us to learn more from one another and to widen our understanding of the unconscious and of psychoanalytic processes." (827) Steven Cooper's book embodies this responsibility and invigorates psychoanalytic work.

2013

From the critic’s analysis of the author to the text’s analysis of the critic and from thepsychoanalysis of literature to the literature of psychoanalysis, what this paper seeks to offer is a dynamic perspective on the ways in which psychoanalytic criticism expanded and developed novel ways of approaching the literary text. It looks to show how the psychoanalytic reading of literary texts has been perpetually repositioning and reconsidering itself, how the roles between the object and the subject of analysis have been reversed and how the function of interpretation has shifted from a tool of diagnosis to a complex relation between text and interpreter. The main changes in the field are explored in light of three key themes: the perspective on the unconscious in literary study, the roles of the instances involved in the analytical/critical praxis and the relation between literature and psychoanalysis. After reviewing the previous models of critical analysis and their shortcomings, the focus is then turned towards some of the newer developments in the field. The examples from various types of critical readings serve to illustrate, not only the openness of this interdisciplinary approach, but also the plurality which characterizes it.

Having discussed two of the basic approaches to literary understanding, the traditional and the formalistic, we now examine a third interpretive perspective, the psychological. Of all the critical approaches to literature, this has been one of the most controversial, the most abused, and-for many readers-the least appreciated. Yet, for all the difficulties involved in its proper application to interpretive analysis, the psychological approach can be fascinating and rewarding. Our purpose in this chapter is threefold: (1) to account briefly for the misunderstanding of psychological criticism; (2) to outline the psychological theory most commonly used as an interpretive tool by modern critics; and (3) to show by examples how readers may apply this mode of interpretation to enhance their understanding and appreciation of literature.