Friedman's corpus Since His Anatomy: A Psychoanalytic Odyssey

Abstract

Lawrence Friedman is a preeminent theorist, critic, and commentator in American psychoanalysis today. The major themes of his work, beginning with his magnum opus, The Anatomy of Psychotherapy (1988), are examined in an effort to identify conceptual shifts and problems in contemporary psychoanalysis. In the years since publication of that work, Friedman's texts have increasingly focused on the epistemological controversies faced by contemporary psychoanalysts. He has become a vocal critic of recent developments in relational psychoanalysis, advancing views that are explored here and subjected to critical appraisal. To better understand Friedman's ideas, areas of disagreement with other authors, including Schafer, Renik, Hoffman, Mitchell, Rorty, and Michels, are explored. Finally, Friedman is presented as a crypto-intersubjectivist whose work effects a realignment of theory with practice.

Ideas of Influence: the Impact of the Analyst’s Character on the Analysis

“…This patient is much more aggressive in his efforts to find out who I am, that is, to quantify what Kravis (2006) dubbed "the vertiginous ambiguity of the analyst's personal investment in the analysand" (p. 954). Yet he also realizes, at the same time, that the "signals" I send out are who I am, to him.…”

The status of developmental curriculum in North American psychoanalysis

“…However, renouncing the false certainty about etiology based on past errors and positivist arrogance need not – indeed cannot – be confused with a renunciation of our search for causes and contributions, which is the heart of our work (Kravis, 2006). Our window into the dynamic interplay of systems within the individual is unique because it considers the profound importance of mental life and the patient’s own efforts to make meaning (out of endowment, maturation, environmental experience in its broadest sense, serendipity and prior meaning‐making) for development going forward.…”

“…Finally, attention to development throughout a psychoanalytic education can serve to make explicit the inevitable presence of developmental ideas in our work, thereby compelling each of our candidates to recognize his or her own development theories, including their idiosyncrasies, pockets of ignorance and neurotic distortions. Because such theories guide clinical work and technique, it is essential to offer a framework, a way of thinking about development, to orient our students so that they avoid the pitfalls of previous generations while still searching for understanding and even for truth (Kravis, 2006).…”