Emotional Communication: Countertransference Analysis and the Use of Feeling in Psychoanalytic Technique. Paul Geltner. New York:  Routledge, 2013.  336 pp.

Paul Geltner has authored a book that will interest students and practitioners of psychoanalysis; novices will also be attracted to his system, his “experience near” language, and extensive clinical dialogues; modern psychoanalysts will feel refreshed and empowered by his reasoned perspective; supervisors will embrace his flexible systematic approach to common, stubborn clinical impasses; theoreticians will be intrigued by his attempt to provide a system that evolves hypotheses for clinical testing; and all clinicians will appreciate and want to further study his practical approach to everyday thorny issues.

I first read Geltner's book by browsing the whole in an emotional mode. I then reread and studied it in a more comprehensive, cognitive manner. This approach is suggested because in the first half Geltner outlines the theoretical structure of his theory, which is needed to appreciate the logic and artistry of the lively clinical techniques illustrated in the second half.

Geltner constructs a conceptual synthesis of a minority tradition in psychoanalysis. The minority tradition includes many modern psychoanalysts, especially Spotnitz. In fact, Geltner's book could readily be subtitled A Theory of Technique, the same subtitle as Spotnitz's (2004) seminal publication, Modern Psychoanalysis of the Schizophrenic Patient. Though Geltner's roots stem from