The Real, the Constructed, and the Personal a Discussion of Ken Frank's Paper “Toward Conceptualizing the Personal Relationship in Therapeutic Action: Beyond the ‘Real’ Relationship”

Relational psychoanalysis has shifted from being the new kid on the “psychoanalytic block” to its present status as an established paradigm. As such, we have our own historical record, traditions, received wisdom, and conventions. Ken Frank's paper, “Toward Conceptualizing the Personal Relationship in Therapeutic Action: Beyond the ‘Real’ Relationship” (2005) comprises a contribution to what Kuhn (1962) would call “normal science,” where basic assumptions of a paradigm are in place and the work consists of applying the model to various problems, in this case articulating aspects of the relational vision. And what could be more fitting than a well-researched and exhaustive review of the history of how psychoanalysis has come to terms with the central importance of the patient-therapist relationship? Frank illuminates some fascinating twists and turns along the way, and we should be grateful to him for telling this story in such vivid and revealing terms.

In my opinion, the most compelling aspect of Frank's paper is his documenting the shift in how the emotional ambiance of the analytic relationship is portrayed. I agree wholeheartedly with him about the importance and value of this change. Frank describes the possibilities for a warmer and more personally intimate relatedness between therapist and patient and the abandonment of a remote scientistic and hierarchical posture. He makes an important contribution to this effort in his study of the optimal qualities