“Finding the Value” in Intersubjective and Clinical Process: Towards a Valuational Model of Relational Motivation: Reply to Commentaries

The Dignity in Multiplicity: Human Value as a Foundational Concept in Relational Thought

“…By emphasizing the importance of the analyst as a real person, relational authors have been working to affirm her as a source of meaning in the analytic situation, and thus to construct models more expressive of the analyst's dignity. Interestingly, affirming the analyst's dignity is not just about the analyst-by positioning the analyst as an equivalent subject in clinical work, relational theorists have been embracing the idea that the patient's health is dependent on her ability to respect the analyst as a distinct subject, and thus that "individual" well-being is constituted by the capacity to honor the dignity of both Self and Other (Benjamin, 1995;Drozek, 2010a).…”

“…When we ascribe unconditional value to Self and Other in all of our evolving complexity, we are able to summon the courage to simultaneously access experiences that exist in a state of dialectical tension with the dignity of Self and Other. 11 Following Benjamin (1995), I assume there is a natural correlation between valuing oneself and valuing others (see Drozek, 2010a). As noted earlier, the conditional valuing of others often implies the conditional valuing of oneself-I value myself only under certain conditions, and I value you when you help me meet these conditions.…”