This article presents some quantitative findings from a survey of 89 psychoanalysts (all members of the American Psychoanalytic Association or the International Psychoanalytical Association) about their own experiences in analysis. A comprehensive questionnaire was used to collect retrospective data about (1) how participants felt they benefited from their analyses and (2) how they remembered their analysts' technique, personality, and style of relating. A correlational analysis found that, according to our participants' ratings, the most beneficial analyses were associated with having a caring and emotionally engaged analyst who possessed positive relational and personality qualities, used supportive techniques in addition to classical techniques, and pursued therapeutic as well as analytic goals. Outcomes rated as successful were also associated with experiencing a good 'fit', a good working relationship, and a positive therapeutic alliance. Our results support the call for an expanded view of acceptable analytic technique (e.g. Schacter and Kächele, 2007).

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Managing difficult conversations is an important skill to develop and refine for all professionals and future leaders, particularly for those in health care where difficult situations with high stakes are prevalent. The intensity and frequency of these types of conversations will predictably increase as one’s professional responsibility grows. In this article, the authors discuss their interprofessional course, Managing Difficult Conversations, developed 15 years ago for medical and graduate students at Stanford University. The course facilitates the practice of managing difficult conversations through role play in a low-risk, safe classroom setting among peers. The role-played difficult conversations are based upon a series of case studies and are facilitated by faculty and guest experts. There is no single communication style that suits everyone, but the authors offer resources from the course that can be applied for effective difficult conversations, including 12 guiding principles and a 3-stage framework for planning, beginning, and conducting the conversation. Preparing and practicing for difficult conversations will enhance the likelihood of conveying the necessary information with professionalism, directness, clarity, empathy, and warmth. Although unsettling news will always be difficult to receive, the method of delivery should be a source of comfort and hope, not one of discomfort and pain.

After reviewing the historical significance of competitive rowing at Harvard and Yale universities and the literature dealing with rowing as a competitive sport, this article describes and reports the results of a checklist evaluation and simulated semi-availability study of the rowing collections of the Harvard and Yale University library systems. The results indicate, contrary to what might be expected, that major academic libraries can have noteworthy holdings in a specialized sports area. Harvard has a stronger rowing collection with a higher overall availability rate than does Yale. Comparison with a previous evaluation of the Free Library of Philadelphia's (FLP) rowing collection, based on the identical checklist, indicated its holdings are a bit stronger than Harvard's and considerably better than Yale's, but not as strong as the combined holdings of both Harvard and Yale.

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