Relatedness, the Ethic of Tenderness, and the Psychoanalytic Cultural Divide

Abstract

An ethic of tenderness increasingly saturates the culture of psychoanalysis. This article defines the ethic and explores how it relates to and interacts with more traditional psychoanalytic thinking and behavior.

Keywords:

• analytic cultural tensions
• provisions
• tenderness
• thick description

Notes

¹ For language purposes, I will use the feminine pronouns “she” and “her” to designate the analyst, but my meanings include men.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joye Weisel-Barth

Dr. Joye Weisel-Barth is a senior instructor, training analyst, and supervisor at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. She is Book Review Editor for Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, Associate Editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and a frequent contributor to major psychoanalytic journals. Her analytic practice is in Encino, California.