You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Michael Parsons's The Dove That Returns, The Dove That Vanishes: Paradox and Creativity in Psychoanalysis, is a book of clarity and poignancy. It is a book that rings true both in the author's presentation of clinical material and in his formulations about clinical technique and process.
The book aims to explore conflicts and points of convergence between the intrinsically personal and subjective dimensions of psychoanalytic work and the need for technical discipline (which Parsons calls objectivity). He also explores the personal dimension of the psychoanalytic practitioner—the notion that the evolution of the analyst as a person and as a unique clinician is a precondition for creative analytic work.
The metaphors and methodology used in the book reflect Parsons's creativity and personality, and work synergistically to elucidate his interest in the analyst's personality. He is especially drawn to Chinese and Japanese martial arts as heuristic devices because they combine discipline and a requisite degree of skill with an opportunity for expressiveness—not just superficial or descriptive forms of expressiveness, but something that expresses deep, unbidden, and even sometimes unknown aspects of one's nature. This is a lovingly used, real, and helpful way to describe many of the tensions between spontaneity and restraint, between the artful exploration and vocation (as he comes to call them) that Parsons is most interested in pursuing with the reader.
The opening chapter, “Vocation and Martial Arts,” is a beautifully written exploration of the rich contradictions intrinsic to psychoanalytic work. Citing Rank and Lacan, Parsons explores how these theorists viewed analysis as a means to developing meaning. For each, the