The Power of Connection, by Jane S. Hall.  IPBooks, 2022,  243 pp.

Jane S. Hall's The Power of Connection is a comprehensive and reflective work, consisting of 12 chapters and featuring a substantial interview with eminent psychoanalyst Martin Bettman. In her introduction, Hall articulates her clinical philosophy, drawing on over five decades of psychoanalytic practice. She guides the reader through a nuanced exploration of the therapeutic dyad, focusing on how developmental derailments can be addressed and how authentic growth and change are fostered within the analytic relationship.

Hall's perspective is rooted in the conviction that therapy is most effective when it is a collaborative process—a “level playing field” where two people work together. This approach, which she began to articulate in her earlier book, Deepening the Treatment, is further developed in The Power of Connection. Hall emphasizes the importance of mutual engagement, spontaneity, and emotional authenticity, recalling her own formative experiences in psychoanalysis: the “feelings beneath the words,” the spontaneous moments of laughter and tears, and the profound sense of being genuinely cared for and accepted.

Drawing on contemporary neuroscience, Hall references Norman Doidge's work on neuroplasticity (The Brain That Changes Itself, ), highlighting the principle of “use it or lose it.” She argues that freedom within the therapeutic dyad is essential, allowing both participants to share their experiences openly. This stands in contrast to the traditional abstinent “blank screen” stance, which she suggests can inhibit genuine connection and growth.

Central tenets of Hall's philosophy—“benevolent curiosity,” a concept originally coined by Ella Sharpe in her 1950 Collected Papers in Psychoanalysis, and Edward Z. Tronick's “something more”—are the crucible for therapeutic change. It is within these unique, co-created states that new meanings emerge, and transformation becomes possible.