Introduction to the Symposium, Interpersonal and Relational Psychoanalysis

Abstract

Recent symposia exploring the links—historical, theoretical, and political—between Interpersonal and Relational Psychoanalysis have revisited the turbulent chronicle of internecine conflict among competing schools of thought. While the papers collected here aim primarily to address theoretical linkages between the two schools, they document as well an unfortunate narrative of a repeated hardening of institutional orthodoxy in the face of spirited dissent and creativity. While the current moment in psychoanalytic discourse is relatively free of this sort of unproductive conflict, one might anticipate, yet hope to avoid, another turn of the wheel as the Relational school assumes a certain establishment legitimacy and must inevitably face significant theoretical challenges of its own.

Keywords:

• relational
• psychoanalysis
• history
• political
• dissent
• revolution
• suppression

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steven Tublin

Steven Tublin, Ph.D. is Faculty and Supervisor of Psychotherapy, The William Alanson White Institute and the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy.