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Abstract
With the help of the most recent contributions from the psychoanalytic literature, mainly from a constructivistic and relational purview, the author analyzes some ambiguous dimensions of the therapeutic relationship related to seduction, love, and power. It is assumed that the seductive power embedded in the psychotherapeutic experience is related to the paradoxical character of the relationship between patient and therapist that is, at the same time, asymmetrical and mutual. The role played by gender differences in the expression of love and seduction between patient and therapist is also discussed. A final reflection is dedicated to the potential and space that transactional analysis theory, from its origins to date, provides to these obscure and elusive dimensions of the therapeutic relationship.
Notes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Notes on contributors
Valentina Terlato
Valentina Terlato, Provisional Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), is a psychologist and psychotherapist who works mostly with adults and adolescents in Rome at a public mental health center. She is also a teacher and supervisor at Auximon, an Italian school for transactional analysis. She can be reached at Via C. Peano 19 – 00139 Rome, Italy; email: [email protected].