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.
Learning along the Way: Further Reflections on Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, by Patrick Casement, is a collection of his previously published papers, presentations, and interviews. He offers them as
individual chapters, which he annotates with the context in which each was written. In his introduction, Casement makes it clear that he is at the end of his life, that he has closed his psychoanalyst practice, and that, after a bout of near-fatal cancer, this will be his final book.
This volume, then, is the body of Casement's work, his greatest hits. It is suffused with integrity, wisdom, and a passionate commitment to the work of analysis, supervision, and training. His theories are accessible to the student of psychoanalysis, yet wise and rewarding for the seasoned analyst. Consistent throughout his work, including his first book, Learning from the Patient , he reminds us that to learn from our patients we need to come from a place of uncertainty, remain open to what they can teach us, and keep our preconceived notions and theoretical viewpoints at bay. He maintains that no real change can happen when ideas are imparted from an all-knowing analyst; rather, it is the slow discovery by the patient that invites change.
Central to his work is the idea that patients must be allowed the freedom to be themselves, and that therapists must learn the language their patients are speaking without imposing their own. He encourages analysts/therapists to sit patiently with their questions and to allow understanding to unfold. He elaborates on early themes in his writing: trial identification (when we sit with a patient, we should think about how they will hear what we say); the otherness of the other (while we are encouraged to put ourselves in another's shoes, we should keep in mind that like-minded is not equivalent to sameness), and the value of uncertainty and communication in treatment. He outlines the ways we are at risk of creating “imprisoned minds”; instead of helpin