CF 702 Psychodynamic Psychology V: Relational Theory
Fall, 2011
Gary Walls, PhD
gbwallsphd@gmail.com
(312) 802-7261
This distance learning course will introduce students to the concepts of relational theory and acquaint them with the representative theorists, as well as examine the usefulness of relational theory in practice and its relationship to other psychoanalytic theories. The course will be conducted as a seminar, and students will be responsible for reflecting upon and integrating the readings via weekly written reaction papers (2-3 pages, double spaced) that will facilitate class discussions and applying the theory to clinical case material.
Goals:
- Students will become familiar with the concepts of relational theory.
- Place relational theory in the context of psychoanalytic theory.
- Gain an understanding of the clinical implications of relational theory.
Evaluation:
Grades will be based 50% on class participation and 50% on written assignments.
Each student will be responsible for leading the class discussion in one article or book chapter.
Attendance Policy
Regular class attendance is required. No more than two absences will be allowed. Incompletes will be given at the instructor’s discretion and only in cases of extreme emergency.
Required Texts:
Mitchell, S. A. & Aron, L. (1999). Relational psychoanalysis: The emergence of a tradition. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
Books are available from Amazon at www.amazon.com or from the Analytic Press.
Class I: September 17 (ON SITE)
Basic Concepts of Relational Theory
Borden, W. (2000). The relational paradigm in contemporary psychoanalysis: Toward a psychodynamically informed social work. Social Service Review, (September), 352-379. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite.
Mitchell, S. (1988). The relational matrix. In S. Mitchell, Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis, (pp. 17-40). Cambridge, MA: Harvard.
Class II: September 29
The Relational Sensibility in Psychoanalytic Process
Hoffman, I. Z., (1983) The patient as interpreter of the analyst’s experience. In Mitchell, S., & Aron, L., Eds.) Relational Analysis: The Emergence of a Tradition. Hillsdale, N. J.: The Analytic Press.
Mitchell, S. (1988). Clinical implications of the developmental tilt. In S. Mitchell, Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis, (pp. 151-172). Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP.
Mitchell, S. (1988) Penelope’s loom. In S. Mitchell, Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis, (pp. 271-306) Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP.
Class III: October 13
From Repression to Dissociation in Relational Theory
Davies, J. & Frawley, M. (1999). Dissociative processes and transference-countertransference paradigms in the psychoanalytically oriented treatment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. In S. Mitchell & L. Aron (Eds.), Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition, (pp. 269-304). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press. (Original work published in 1991)
Hirsh, I. & Roth, J. (1995). Changing concepts of unconscious. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 31, (263-276). Retrieved from PEP Archive.
Stern, D. B. (1999). Unformulated experience: From familiar chaos to creative disorder. In Mitchell & L. Aron (Eds.), Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition, (pp. 77-107). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press. (Original work published in 1983)
Class IV: October 27
The Analytic Situation Viewed as 2 People in Relationship
Renik, O., (1993) Analyzing interaction: Conceptualizing technique in the light of the analyst’s irreducible subjectivity. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Vol. 62, 553-571. PEP
Renik, O., (1996) The perils of neutrality. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Vol. 65, 495-517. PEP
Hoffman, I. Z., (1991) Discussion: Toward a social constructivist view of the psychoanalytic situation. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Vol. 1, 74-105. PEP
Class V: November 5th (ON SITE)
The Uses of Countertransference in Relational Psychoanalysis
Renik, O., (1993) Countertransference enactment and the Psychoanalytic process. In Psychic Structure and Psychic Change: Essays in Honor of Robert S. Wallerstein, M.J. Horowitz, O. F. Kerneberg, & E, M. Weinshell, (Eds.). Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
Renick, O. (1995). The ideal of the anonymous analyst and the problem of self-disclosure. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Vol. 64, 466-95. PEP
Ehrenberg, Darlene, (1974). The intimate edge in therapeutic relatedness. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, vol. 10, 423-37. PEP
Class VI: December 1st
Gender, Race, Class & Diversity in Relational Analysis
Harris, A. (1991) Gender as Contradiction. In S.A. Mitchell & L. Aron (Eds.) Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition, 1999, 305-335. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Chodorow, N. (1995) Gender as a personal and cultural construction. In M. Dimen and V. Goldner, (Eds.) Gender in Psychoanalytic Space 237-61.
Walls, G. (2004) Toward a critical global psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Vol. 14, 605-34. PEP
Class VII: December 15
Politics and Epistemology in Relational Psychoanalysis
Fallenbaum, R. (2003) The injured worker. Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 4, 72-92.
Hoffman, I. Z. (2009) Doublethinking our way to “scientific” legitimacy: The desiccation of human experience. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 57, 1043-69.