Participant Observation

OUR INTENTION IN WRITING THIS ESSAY is to explore the didactic value of Sullivan's concept of participant-observation.

Sullivan was a pioneer who opened new possibilities for those who were interested in intensive psychotherapy. The concept of participant-observation denoted a break with the traditional view of the psychiatrist being a mere observer of the strange world of the mentally disturbed by stressing the participation of the observer in the operational field. Furthermore, the interpersonal approach makes it clear that the nature of the participation of each member is determined by the nature of interactions and the impact of the participants on each other.

Sullivan went perhaps too far in ascribing to this concept a crucial theoretical significance around which he built his operational, interpersonal theory of psychiatry. The concept of participant observation is neither a theory, nor is it a specific technique. It defines an essential attitude—a skill to be developed and cultivated in order to be proficient as a psychotherapist.

Sullivan wrote in 1949 that: "The expertness of the psychiatrist refers to his skill in participant observation of the unfortunate patterns of his own and the patient's living, in contrast to merely participating in such unfortunate patterns with the patient." (Sullivan; 1949)

One can tell much about the quality and style of a psychotherapist by the amount of care and thought he expends on the more humble and routine details of the patient's life. Sullivan obviously had a mind trained in this direction; otherwise he would not have ascribed such importance to the relation between these two distinct faculties of the mind.

Those who worked with Sullivan in supervision remember his insistence on adhering to the observable data, verbatim reports to the interaction, and the care he gave to every sentence he uttered. There was economy and precision in his communications reminiscent of a chess player, and he was very often able to