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The Clinical Exchange describes a set of therapeutic principles to be followed in the treatment of patients by psychoanalysis or psychoanalytically oriented therapy; it is an approach derived from the authors' (1992) Self and Motivational Systems. It consistently contrasts their recommendations with the practices of classical psychoanalysts of the 1960s, 50s, or even earlier; in one instance it
derides advice Freud gave and later rescinded in 1923. It addresses the wide spectrum of clinicians who are doing exploratory psychotherapy today. The authors propose 10 principles that guide their technique. Inasmuch as many of these principles are already common in practice, the authors appear to be presenting a therapeutic system rather than adding incremental insights to existing theory and technique.
The 10 principles are briefly described in an introductory chapter. There follows a brief case history that serves to orient the reader for the transcripts of parts of 17 analytic sessions, each representing a week in the treatment of the patient from the years 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1990. These transcripts take up 67 of the 245 pages in the body of the book. The authors then present a more detailed discussion of their 10 principles of technique, following which are chapters on affective experience, transference, dreams, sexuality, and modes of therapeutic action and one in which they reply to questions raised when they presented their ideas prior to publication.
The authors describe their 10 principles as user friendly. This term, coming from data processing, implies that therapists need not have expert knowledge in order to make use of the technology. I believe that The Clinical Exchange is addressed to therapists with varying degrees of formal training, personal analysis, aptitude, and immersion in the practice of intensive psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. In both the clinical material and its theoretical emendations, the book tends to back away from depth psycholog