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Many definitions of clinical failure cast constant shadows in every consulting room. From the beginning of psychoanalysis various collisions have been documented. Anna O. recovered but was no enthusiast of psychoanalysis and Breuer never practiced again. Freud's account of his failed treatment with Dora has spawned an industry of comment. The sad story of the Wolf Man is yet another memorable failure. Freud himself was very cautious about clinical claims. Psychoanalysis is suspicious even of its own successes with notions like flight into health and transference cure. Not only can we fail to help, but we can also unwittingly make things worse. Analysts of various theoretical orientations argue that we must be willing to take that risk if we are to make any real difference.
The restoration of Ferenczi's insights and the emergent culture of relational psychoanalysis have turned our attention to trauma and repair. The edited volume under review here is a collection of relational reflections on clinical failure. Like many edited volumes the fifteen chapters vary considerably but the overall tone is candid and conversational. The two editors are self-described relational body therapists. They appear to combine humanistic body oriented psychotherapy with a relational psychoanalytic perspective. Relational psychoanalytic discourse has infused their thinking. Unfortunately, there is no accounting for the history of this interesting synthesis in this volume. At times, it seems that several authors have so embraced the music and lyrics of relational reverie that the clinical forest is lost in the rhetorical trees. There is an interview with Muriel Dimen, which captures some of her wonderful spirit but is too brief to do justice to the depth and rigor of her thinking. It is sad that we no longer have her voice in our midst. One of the strongest chapters is Jessica Benjamin's remarkably lucid summary of the relational position. She conveys the history efficiently and clearly art