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Marianne Goldberger has selected thirteen papers, including two of her own and an introduction, to honor Paul Gray in her book Danger and Defense: The Technique of Close Process Attention. “Close process attention” is, what she, the editor, considers to be Gray's most important contribution. She writes:
“These chapters show that Gray not only has made important original contributions to our knowledge but also has inspired others to embark on doing the same” (p. xxi). The papers brought together in this volume demonstrate the authors' feelings of gratitude and respect for Paul Gray and were contributed to honor him on his seventy-fifth birthday.
Goldberger has made a significant contribution of her own in choosing and editing this collection of important papers that range from fine points of analytic technique to broad philosophy of science in analytic theory, exemplifying Paul Gray's depth and breadth of analytic interest.
Perhaps Gray's most seminal contribution to analytic practice is his emphasis on “close process attention”. Several of the authors give this an extensive exploration. In his chapter, for example, Hutchinson states that “The focus of study is the pattern of the analysand's thoughts and feelings as he tells them to the analyst—not his troubles, or relationships, or life history as it could be known through his narrative … The analyst maintains a consistent attention to the precise details of the two-dimensional array—the moment-to-moment flow of communication from analysand to analyst” (pp. 131-132). The emphasis is on showing the patient how his/ her mind works by demonstrating how conflict is avoided in the minute