A Boston Yankee: Paul M. Lerner and the Heart of Assessment

Abstract

In this article, I review the contributions of Paul M. Lerner to the theory and practice of personality assessment. I contrast Lerner's clinical approach with a narrow empirical approach along several dimensions. I explicate Lerner's experiential-psychoanalytic method. I draw attention to the patient's subjective experience as the nexus for interpretation and to the centrality of the patient–examiner relationship in the conduct of assessment.

Acknowledgment

An earlier version of this article was presented as a Master Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality Assessment, March 9, 2007 in Arlington, VA.

Notes

¹ Lerner's use of “empirical” in this context might more accurately be translated as “quantitative” or “statistical,” as clinical observation may also be considered empirical.