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Ofra Eshel of Israel brings a wealth of clinical and theoretical background to this exploration of what she describes as analytic oneness, arguing for its centrality in current psychoanalytic praxis. Eshel is a training and supervising analyst of the Israel Psychoanalytic Society, vice president of the International Winnicott Association, and the founder and head of the postgraduate track “Independent Psychoanalysis: Radical Breakthroughs” at the advanced studies of the Program of Psychotherapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University.
As she says at the outset, the book traces her theoretical and clinical development over the course of a long career—a career focused on working with very severe pathology, difficult-to-treat patients, and treatment-of-last-resort situations in both institutional settings and, as her career developed, in a more familiar, analytic office practice. A truly impressive body of work extending over thirty years, much of it previously published, is now gathered in one volume that, as the title announces, is centered on tracing the evolution of her analytic oneness concept as the core of psychoanalysis. This organization of the book allows the reader to follow along with her as she discovers, describes, reflects on, and refines her understanding of this central idea.
Alongside this opportunity to grasp what is a conceptually nuanced and sophisticated perspective on our analytic task, we come to know Eshel’s remarkable spirit, style, tone, and sensibility. In addition to the theoretical and clinical contributions she offers, the analytic ethic she
espouses and invites us to consider is an important part of her message. She writes with a truly passionate commitment to her patients’ growth and well-being and in her clinical work with traumatized patients strives to go with them to the “bottom of the trough” (Winnicott 19741). I find her warmth, profound sensitivity, and integrity of professional care quite moving. Most impressive to me