ES 471: Harry Stack Sullivan and the
Interpersonal Tradition
Spring 2010
Dennis McCaughan, Ph.D.
333 North Michigan Avenue – Suite 801
Chicago, IL 60601
312-750-1060
dennis.mccaughan@gmail.com
Course Description
Harry Stack Sullivan has been described as one of the most influential yet little recognized innovators in the field of clinical psychiatry, psychotherapy and the social sciences. In part, this reflects his less than systematic approach to theory building and a certain suspicion of the more dogmatic and doctrinaire claims of Freudian psychoanalysis. Sullivan offers a radical perspective on the person as understood within the interpersonal situation shaped by social and cultural forces. His work has influenced the development of relational psychoanalysis as well as interactional and constructionist perspectives in clinical theory and practice. This seminar will provide an introduction to Sullivan’s work as well as the contributions of interpersonal pioneers Clara Thompson, Erich Fromm, Frieda Fromm-Reichman, and Karen Horney. Contemporary perspectives represented by Edgar Levenson , Jarl Dyrud and others will be considered.
Course Requirements
Reading and discussion.
Evaluation
Class discussion. The course will be graded pass/fail.
Course Outline and Readings
February 6th:
Sullivan, H.S. (1938). The data of psychiatry. Psychiatry, 1:121-134.
February 20th
Sullivan, H.S. (1953). The juvenile era. In The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. New York: Norton, pp. 227-244.
Sullivan, H.S. (1956/1973). Selective inattention. In Clinical Studies in Psychiatry. New York: Norton, pp. 38-54.
Sullivan, H.S. (1954/1970). The Psychiatric interview. New York: Norton, pp. 206-226.
McCaughan, D. L.(1999). On learning to learn again. Comparative Approaches to Brief Psychotherapy. (W. Borden, ed). New York: Haworth Press, pp. 203-217.
March 6th
Thompson, C. (1964). Penis envy. In Interpersonal Psychoanalysis. (M. Green, ed.)
New York: Basic Books.
Thompson, C. (1964 ) Sullivan and psychoanalysis. In Interpersonal Psychoanalysis. (M. Green, ed). New York: Basic Books
March 20th
Fromm, E. (1955/1995). Remarks on the problem of free association. In Pioneers of Interpersonal Psychoanalysis. (D. B. Stern. et al, eds.). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, pp. 123-134.
Fromm, E.(1994). Specified methods to cure modern character neurosis. In The Art of Listening. London: Constable, pp. 163-191.
April 10th
Greenberg, J. (1964). I never promised you a rose garden. New York: Holt
Fromm-Reichman, F.(1990). Loneliness. Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 26: 305-329. PEP
Will, O. A. Jr. (1973). The psychotherapeutic encounter: Relatedness and schizophrenia. In Interpersonal Explorations in Psychoanalysis ( E. G. Wittenberg, ed). New York: Basic Books, pp. 235-257.
April 24th
Horney, K.(1930/1966). New ways in psychoanalysis. New York: Norton, pp.276-305
Horney, K. 1945/1972). Our inner conflicts. New York: Norton, pp 23-33.
May 8th
Cooper, A. and Witenberg, E. G. (1985). The “bogged down” treatment: A remedy. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 21: 27-42. PEP
Dyrud, J. (1979). Sullivan’s concept of the illusory other. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 15: 190-194. PEP
Levenson, E. A. (1991). Whatever happened to the cat? Interpersonal
perspectives on the self. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 25, 537-553. PEP
May 22nd
McCaughan, D. L. (2003). Dr. Coles and old Doc Rivers: On the imagination in practice. Unpublished manuscript.