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Dr. Alexander S. Rogowski: Every thoughtful psychoanalyst experiments in his practice to improve his therapeutic results. Much of this experimentation remains unreported in the literature.
This meeting is dedicated to the exploration of the relations of conjoint therapy to psychoanalysis. I hope it will be an occasion to report freely on our experiences and actual practices.
Our panel is qualified to lead such an exchange. Dr. Martin Grotjahn has been a pioneer in this area. Since he published his book Psychoanalysis and Family Neurosis in 1960, a growing number of analysts have introduced conjoint and family interviewing into their therapeutic repertory. To a collection of clinical reports by psychotherapists and analysts on various approaches to marital problems, edited by Bernard L. Greene and published in book form under the title The Psychotherapy of Marital Disharmony, Dr. Grotjahn contributed a most interesting description of his ways of dealing with various conjoint and family situations.
For several years Dr. Saul Brown has demonstrated family interviewing at the Mt. Sinai Hospital, permitting colleagues to observe him through a one-way mirror screen. The interviews are followed by discussion of the dynamics of the family presented and of the transactions during the interview. They have aroused much interest in our professional community.
I am here as moderator. In agreement with Dr. Brown and Dr. Grotjahn, I have prepared a brief paper: “The Use of Conjoint Sessions in the Finishing Phase of Psychoanalysis or Prolonged Psychotherapy.”
In general, analysts have viewed with alarm any change of the one-to-one relationship in psychoanalytic therapy. Some colleagues, with Sigmund Freud an exception, used to discourage all contacts with anyone but the patient, and this injunction extended to the patient's spouse as well. I recall some purists would even refuse to communicate with the therapist of other members of the same family. A kind of iron curtain was drawn abou