Enactment
Toward a New Approach to the Therapeutic Relationship
Edited by Steven J. Ellman, Michael Moskowitz
Publication date:
01 March 1998Length of book:
210 pagesPublisher
Jason Aronson, Inc.ISBN-13: 9781568215846
For many therapists it has replaced previous action terms such as acting in and acting out. Something new has been captured by this concept: a recognition of a process that may involve words but goes beyond words. For some, enactment addresses a continuous undercurrent in the interaction between patient and therapist in the realm of intersubjectivity. Others ask whether this concept adds either clarity or a new perspective to the clinical situation. This volume addresses the questions: Does the current focus on enactments entail a shift in our model of therapeutic change? Are enactments essential? Can they be dangerous, and if so, under what circumstances? Enactment is essential reading for all psychotherapists.
Several major trends in psychoanalytic theory and technique converge on the concept of enactment in a way that allows us to see where we are comping from and where we are heading, where major agreement exists and where disagreements convey questions for continuing exploration. This book brings together the history of transference and countertransference in a compact, digestible way that sets the stage for the examination of recent points of convergence. The chapters in the first half develop the concept of enactment in classical and new theoretical papers. The second half demonstrates the clinical usefulness of the idea of enactment and locates it at the center of the therapeutic process. The final chapter draws together the many strands presented in the book to give an overview of agreements and of questions that remain. Enactment is an exciting, comprehensive book to be explored, used in training, and valued by psychotherapists of all persuasions and levels of experience.