Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy : A Practitioner's Guide

by McWilliams, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9781593850098
• ISBN10: 1593850093
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781606235829
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-18
• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Addressing the art and science of psychodynamic treatment, Nancy McWilliams distills the essential principles of clinical practice, including effective listening and talking; transference and countertransference; emotional safety; and an empathic, attuned attitude toward the patient. The book describes the values, assumptions, and clinical and research findings that guide the psychoanalytic enterprise, and shows how to integrate elements of other theoretical perspectives. It discusses the phases of treatment and covers such neglected topics as educating the client about the therapeutic process, handling complex challenges to boundaries, and attending to self-care. Presenting complex information in personal, nontechnical language enriched by in-depth clinical vignettes, this is an essential psychoanalytic work and training text for therapists.

Author Biography

Nancy McWilliams, PhD, teaches psychoanalytic theory and therapy at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers/m-/The State University of New Jersey. A 1978 graduate of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, she also teaches at the Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy of New Jersey, the National Training Program in Contemporary Psychotherapy, the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, and the Minnesota Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies. She has lectured throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand. Dr. McWilliams has a private practice in psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy, and supervision in Flemington, New Jersey. She is the author of <I>Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process<I*> and <I>Psychoanalytic Case Formulation<I*>, as well as articles and book chapters on personality, psychopathology, psychotherapy, altruism, sexuality, and gender.

Table of Contents

What Defines a Psychoanalytic Therapy?	1	(26)
Background Information	4	(9)
Psychoanalysis and the Psychoanalytic Therapies	13	(7)
My Own Orientation	20	(7)
The Psychoanalytic Sensibility	27	(19)
Curiosity and Awe	29	(3)
Complexity	32	(2)
Identification and Empathy	34	(2)
Subjectivity and Attunement to Affect	36	(4)
Attachment	40	(2)
Faith	42	(2)
Concluding Comments	44	(2)
The Therapist's Preparation	46	(27)
Orienting Considerations	48	(12)
Therapy for the Therapist	60	(9)
Other Valuable Foundations of Practice	69	(2)
Concluding Comments	71	(2)
Preparing the Client	73	(26)
Establishing Safety	76	(10)
Educating the Patient about the Therapy Process	86	(10)
Concluding Comments	96	(3)
Boundaries I: The Frame	99	(33)
Some General Observations about Therapists and Boundaries	102	(5)
Specific Boundaries and Their Vicissitudes	107	(19)
The Art of Saying No	126	(2)
Concluding Comments	128	(4)
Basic Therapy Processes	132	(31)
Listening	133	(6)
Talking	139	(3)
Influences on Therapeutic Style	142	(7)
Integrating Psychoanalytic Therapy with Other Approaches	149	(1)
Power and Love	150	(13)
Boundaries II: Quandaries	163	(34)
Accidents and More or Less Innocent Events	165	(5)
Enactments	170	(10)
Disclosure	180	(9)
Touch	189	(5)
Concluding Comments	194	(3)
Molly	197	(22)
Original Clinical Picture	198	(7)
History of Treatment	205	(12)
Posttermination Observations	217	(2)
Donna	219	(22)
Original Clinical Picture	220	(4)
History of Treatment	224	(13)
Posttermination Observations	237	(4)
Ancillary Lessons of Psychoanalytic Therapy	241	(19)
On Psychoanalytic Knowledge	242	(2)
Emotion	244	(4)
Development	248	(3)
Trauma and Stress	251	(2)
Intimacy and Sexuality	253	(3)
Self-Esteem	256	(2)
Forgiveness and Compassion	258	(2)
Occupational Hazards and Gratifications	260	(25)
Occupational Hazards	260	(17)
Gratifications	277	(8)
Self-Care	285	(20)
Care of the Id	286	(7)
Care of the Ego	293	(5)
Care of the Superego	298	(7)
Appendix: Annotated Bibliography	305	(6)
References	311	(24)
Author Index	335	(8)
Subject Index	343