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From its inception, psychoanalytic literature has shown two broad styles of writing. In search of scientific validation, it has been rich in conceptualization that can at times be dauntingly pedantic. To capture the hearts and minds of psychoanalytic practitioners, and of Western civilization more generally, it has been equally rich in the evocative use of language and metaphor. This dual style was Freud's legacy. Having won the Goethe award for literature but none for science, he ultimately lamented: if you don't believe me, “Go ask the poets.”
In this gem of a book, Philip Bromberg straddles these two traditions in analytic writing, as evidenced in its title: Standing in the Spaces: Essays on Clinical Process, Trauma, and Dissociation. At first blush, one might ask, “Standing in what?” Then quickly comes the realization that one will be learning about trauma, dissociation, and how both influence clinical process. And indeed one will. There are between these covers nineteen essays spanning as many years, a period in which Bromberg's wisdom as a major contributor to the relational school of psychoanalysis has truly blossomed.
Taking a tack somewhat different from that of many of his relational colleagues, Bromberg is less directly critical of classical conflict