This Issue contains not only a cornucopia of important articles that extend our understanding of the key concepts and horizons of self psychology but also a set of papers from therapists in Israel dealing with the traumas of 10/7 and the war. Well worth reading cover to cover!
It commences with articles about creative and expansive ways to understand empathy, with Daniel Goldin’s paper distinguishing between immediate and narrative empathy, Steven Stern’s paper exploring empathy as a “breathing together,” and Amanda Kottler’s commentary on both articles in which she relates them to Buber’s important distinction between “I-Thou” and “I-it” relationships. Kottler is followed by rep[lies by Goldin and Stern on Kottler’s and each other’s papers.
Next is Jan Chess’s article about doing meaningful and effective therapy with a patient with Alzheimer’s Disease; followed by Greg Kolodziejczak discussing his concern for patients suffering from dementia by critiquing how the medical establishment deals with the infirm elderly. Then, Laura d’Angelo and Estelle Shane write about patients who feel “dead inside” and how to bring them back to life; while Dayna Sharp, in a paper that won the PSC Candidate/Student Essay Award this past year, shows how self psychology can be effective in treating misophonia, a disorder treated mainly with sensory integrative interventions focused on auditory processing and CBT. We conclude the research article section with an essay by Elizabeth Carr and Ruth Migler on how their psychoanalytic institute is educating its members about diversity. This paper continues PSC’s commitment to bringing new and challenging ideas about psychoanalytic education to our readers.
Next are timely and powerful papers from Israel concerning how therapists—including Palestinian therapists living in Israel—are dealing with the traumatic events of 10/7 and the ongoing war. They also reflect on the tragic history of the region and express hopes for how human violence might be overcome.
The issue concludes with John Riker’s introducing his book, Kohut’s Self Psychology for a Fractured World: New Ways of Understanding the Self and Human Community.
As always, we invite readers wanting to share their responses to the articles to email us, the editors. We cannot always promise publication, but we will take each of your comments seriously. Please send them to [email protected].
Your editors,
John Riker, Marcia Dobson, George Hagman