“I’ve Got News for You”: Life Themes and the Therapeutic Relationship

Abstract

The gap between our theoretical explanations and our phenomenological descriptions in therapeutic processes is discussed. The failure to acknowledge the extent of our involvement is to be found and explained in the nature of the relationship between the bi-directional and the asymmetric levels of discourse in psychotherapy. The bi-directional level of psychotherapy consists of working through the encounter of the two subjectivities involved. The life themes of both the patient and the analyst are seen to be negotiated on the bi-directional level of the interchange, while the asymmetric level of discourse is seen to guarantee the safety and the purpose of therapy. Similarities and differences in the relational and intersubjectivist view of the level of mutual influencing are discussed. A claim is made that the extent of the influence of the therapist’s subjectivity in regard to what is being treated has not been acknowledged and necessitates a much higher degree of awareness that the wellspring of any therapeutic encounter will be the working-through of the life themes of both participants. A case example is given to illustrate these theses.

Keywords:

• bi-directional and asymmetric levels of discourse
• intersubjectivity
• relational theory
• life themes

Notes

¹ I prefer the term bi-directional to mutual because it does not imply sameness or equality in the role distribution. For a discussion of these issues, see Jaenicke (2015).

² For in-depth portrayals of the influence of the analyst’s subjectivity on treatment processes see Change in Psychoanalysis, Jaenicke (2011), and The Search for a Relational Home, Jaenicke (2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Jaenicke

Chris Jaenicke, Dipl. Psych., is a Faculty Member and Training and Supervising Analyst at the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Psychoanalyse und Psychotherapie, e.V. Berlin. He is in private practice in Berlin, Germany, and is the author of The Risk of Relatedness: Intersubjectivity Theory in Clinical Practice (Jason Aronson, 2008); Change in Psychoanalysis: An Analyst’s Reflections on the Therapeutic Relationship (Routledge, 2011); and The Search for a Relational Home: An Intersubjective View of Therapeutic Action (Routledge, 2015). He is an editor of Self Psychology, European Journal for Psychoanalytic Therapy and Research.