Mutuality, Recognition, and the Self: Psychoanalytic Reflections

Mutuality, Recognition, and the Self examines emerging trends in contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice, highlighting intersubjective and relational models of the mind. It presents vivid and extended clinical vignettes that demonstrate the analyst's use of the self in building clinical momentum and continued development. The author highlights the importance of mutuality and recognition in the development of the self, illustrating the impact of family, the larger group context, and the contribution of the analytic encounter.This book is divided into three sections: First, the contribution of family to development, including some relatively neglected topics, such as the importance of fathers in female development, the role of siblings, the experience of "only" children or singletons in the family, and the impact of the extended family (including grandparents) upon the individual. A second section examines the influence of unconscious group processes upon individual development and functioning, and includes papers that highlight the contribution of group psychotherapy as a form of treatment. The last section of the book focuess upon challenging cases in which there has come to be a transference-countertransference impasse, illustrating the author's approach to enabling both patient and analyst to work through these daunting moments, resulting in renewed therapeutic action.

About the Author :
Christine C. Kieffer teaches and supervises at both the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and Rush University Medical School and Medical Center in Chicago. She is in private practice in Chicago and Winnetka, Illinois.

Review :
'In Mutuality, Recognition, and the Self, Christine Kieffer treats her subject with the breadth of perspective it requires and deserves. She begins where the origins of all our "selves" begin - embedded in a family. Unlike many comparable studies, she gives special emphasis to father-daughter, sibling and only child, and grandparent relatedness. Always clinically centred, Dr Kieffer takes the reader through her experiences with groups and developmental impasses. What is outstanding about her treatment of these subjects is her sensitive integration of several contemporary theoretical strands into a readable, coherent whole.'- Joseph D. Lichtenberg, Editor-in-Chief of Psychoanalytic Inquiry; Director Emeritus of the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, Washington'In the deft and experienced hands of Christine Kieffer, the vicissitudes of diverse family constellations, the vagaries of self-consolidation, and the variations of technique with provocative patients come fully alive. With solid moorings in developmental perspective and by blending Winnicottian ideas with the au courant intersubjective approach, Kieffer comes up with fresh insights on father-daughter relationships, the plight and pleasures of only children, the psychically sustaining function of the group at large, the psychopathology of entitled victims, and the dilemmas in the management of negative countertransference. This is heady stuff and, frankly, contemporary psychoanalysis at its best.'- Salman Akhtar, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College; training and supervising analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia'Christine Kieffer's book is at once integrative, comprehensive, and innovative. A seasoned, open-minded clinical analyst, she moves beyond the usual limits of the consulting room to the influential interpersonal environments that are so important in our psychic lives: families, siblings, grandparents, and larger groups. Rooted in the intersubjective and developmental perspectives, Kieffer draws on her mastery of both contemporary and traditional analytic perspectives, including self-psychology, ego psychology, relational analysis, and non-linear dynamic systems theory. Offering exceptionally broad and thorough literature reviews and thoughtful, impressive clinical vignettes throughout, her book will reward beginners and experts alike.'- Stephen Seligman, DMH, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Infant- Parent Program, University of California, San Francisco; joint Editor-in-Chief of Psychoanalytic Dialogues