Moving from “Facts” to “Feelings”: Using Sullivan’s “Detailed Inquiry” in Clinical Practice

1 Presented at the Biennial Conference, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, Durham, NC, March 30, 2019.

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ABSTRACT

Recognizing that many individuals begin therapy concerned about aspects of their actual life circumstances, Harry Stack Sullivan’s interpersonal model begins with a “detailed inquiry” where the therapist actively explores many aspects of the client’s past and present life circumstances including family, friends, education, workplace, community, ethnicity, and religion. Beginning with this data about the client’s life, the therapy can then proceed to explore the affects evoked by these real life experiences.

Notes

1 Presented at the Biennial Conference, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, Durham, NC, March 30, 2019.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joel Kanter

Joel Kanter, MSW, LCSW-C is in private practice of clinical social work in Silver Spring, Maryland. He serves on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work and the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the Clinical Social Work and Psychoanalytic Social Work Journals and has been recognized as a Distinguished Practitioner by the National Academy of Practice in Social Work. He has authored over 50 articles and book chapters in a diverse array of journals, including the International Review of Psychoanalysis, the Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic and American Imago. His book Face to Face with Children: The Life and Work of Clare Winnicott was published by Karnac in 2004.