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Since its inception, interpretation has been the scalpel of psychoanalysis—the basic, finely-honed instrument of a therapeutic modality which aspired to the precision and objectivity of surgery. Recent developments “beyond interpretation” require a reassessment of this fundamental tool.
One of the most lucid, humane, and surprisingly forward-looking formulations of how interpretation works, and why, was James Strachey's paper “The Nature of the Therapeutic Action of Psychoanalysis.” In this work, first published in 1934, Strachey defines the characteristics of the critical “mutative” interpretation, and specifies its effects on the inner and outer world of the patient. Meissner's book is in essence a meditation, exegesis, and extension of Strachey's thesis, demonstrating persuasively both the limitations and the contemporary relevance of his point of view.
The book is divided into four sections: a discussion of Strachey's paper; general comments on the relation of fact to theory and the nature of psychoanalytic facts; the role of theory in practice; and an overview of the multiplicity of techniques now in the