The Myth and History of Some Psychoanalytic Concepts.: Thoughts Inspired by a Reading of Orange et al., Working Intersubjectively

In this paper the author gives her reactions to a book on the intersubjective approach that deals with major issues such as the analyst's role in the psychoanalytic process, neutrality, technique and self-disclosure. Noting that the book often adopts an antagonistic and innovative stance towards Freud, she draws attention to aspects of his theories that deal with concepts deemed by the intersubjective school to be of fundamental importance. Chief among these is the influence of the analyst on the analytic process, in terms both of his ‘defects’ and of his individuality in general. In opposition to the ‘myth of the isolated mind’ attributed by the book to Freud, the author presents some selected passages from his works that emphasise the structuring function of the object and the influence of various groups on the individual. The aim of the paper is not only to counter the oversimplified view of Freud that emerges from the book but also to put forward a theoretical position with respect to a school that is exerting an increasingly powerful attraction on both sides of the Atlantic. The author's argument is based mainly on a discussion of the detailed clinical sequences featuring in the book. She also considers some possible cultural and social determinants of the development of the intersubjective trend.