You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The catchy title of this book is somewhat misleading! It is more about therapeutic action. The volume is a fine, edited collection of papers about that subject and contains comparatively little about the second century of psychoanalysis (which, after all, has only recently begun). The book leads one to wonder what psychoanalysis would be like eighty years from now. It can also be read as an addendum to a fine collection of papers in The Psychoanalytic Quarterly's 2007 supplement on “Comparing Theories of Therapeutic Action,” edited by Sander Abend.
This is the fourth book in the CIPS (Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies) “Series on the Boundaries of Psychoanalysis.” I am familiar with the first three books in the series and can attest to their quality as well. (CIPS members consist of those societies that enjoy International Psychoanalytical Association membership following the now-famous lawsuit brought against the IPA and the American Psychoanalytic Association.) With the exception of Leo Rangell, all the contributors to The Second Century of Psychoanalysis are psychologists who are affiliated with the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies.
In the book's preface, Fredric Perlman poses the question of which is more curative: the relationship between patient and analyst, or insights gained through interpretation. He states that ongoing debates have shed more heat than light on the issue, leading to either/or positions (pseudo dichotomies), instead of recognizing the complex and inseparable interaction between these two factors.