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This panel discussion took place at the IX Forum of Psychoanalysis in Florence, Italy, May 15, 1994.
Moderators: Gerhard Chrzanowski, New York, USA and Alida Cresti, Florence, Italy.
Participants: Romulo Aguillaume, M.D., Madrid, Spain; Roberto Cutajar, M.D., Florence, Italy; Alois Hicklin, M.D., Erlenbach, Switzerland; Jürgen Körner, M.D., Berlin, Germany; and Carola Mann, Ph.D., New York, USA. Four of the five introductory statements are included in this presentation.
All the contributions to the panel seem to agree that psychoanalysis is undergoing changes and is at a critical period. The different points of view expressed by the panelists address questions of pluralism versus a common ground for psychoanalysis. Contemporary views about the analytic relationship, especially the transference-countertransference dimension, the impact of recent findings in the early child development and changes in the psychoanalyst's professional situation are discussed by the panel.
New Perspectives in Psychoanalysis is a challenging topic that encompasses a vast array of literature and clinical experiences that cannot be summarized in a brief presentation. I will therefore limit myself to one particular perspective, and that will have to be schematic at best. Furthermore, what I will be saying is not exactly new—rather it represents a new emphasis in recent analytic literature on the experience of the analyst as he listens to the patient.
Freud and Sullivan both would probably be surprised at today's view of countertransference and might question how it is used today in working with patients. Even Sullivan, despite his interpersonal bent, did not discuss countertransference as a valid and potentially useful source of information for both patient and analyst. It was left to later Interpersonalists, such as Tauber, Levenson, Epstein, and Wolstein, to mention only a few, to fully explore the importance of countertransference.
Seeing countertransference as a potential ally in therapy, an a