A New Freudian Synthesis: Clinical Process in the Next Generation edited by Andrew Druck, Carolyn Ellman, Norbert Freedman, Aaron Thaler ed.  Karnac, London, 2011, CIPS Boundaries of Psychoanalysis series;  296 pp; £29.99

This is a valuable book which will enhance our seminars about comparative psychoanalysis. It consists of 11 chapters by ten authors from three generations of analysts from The Institute for Psychoanalytic Research (IPTAR) in New York City. One of the virtues of this thought-provoking collection is the provision of richly detailed clinical material by a group of dedicated analysts who skillfully helped a patient population largely unable to use interpretations productively. These patients were nevertheless engaged in a deepening analytic process by “deconstructing and redefining” (p. xviii) the nature of interpretation and the nature of the patient-analyst relationship.

In the Introduction the editors raise a group of penetrating and valuable questions about interpretation:

Previous analysts focused on the content of what was interpreted; our authors look at the context of such statements. For example, to whom was the analyst interpreting? Is there a patient capable of appreciating the analyst's perspective, different from that of the patient? What kind of interpersonal action is an interpretation? What is the ‘meta-communication’ in an interpretation? To what extent does it deepen an experiential process, or disrupt it? Why does the analyst choose to interpret

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at a given moment? From where does the interpretation come - to what extent is the analyst following the patient's clinical process and to what extent is the analyst following his or her theory? How much does an interpretation reflect joint discovery by the patient and analyst, and how much does it reflect the analyst finding what he or she believed must be there unconsciously?

One quickly sees that certain ‘classical’ elements of psychoanalytic work are understated or missing, such as reliance on drive, defense, resistance and interpretation. These traditional elements of Freudian theory and technique are not highlighted because… they are assumed and taken for granted. They are seen h