Differentiating Two Kinds of Neutrality
- Neutrality is a most important concept, yet a controversial one. Theorists of different analytic schools have defined it in their own terms, leaving behind them a legacy of disparate and often contradictory formulations. In this paper, the author reviews briefly some of these ideas about neutrality. Then, from a contemporary interpersonal/relational perspective, the author takes a new look at the idea of neutrality. The author points out how unacknowledged discrepancies among these ideas get in the way of understanding and so complicate analytic discourse, and argues that useful work with this concept requires that analysts differentiate between two aspects of neutrality, specifically operational neutrality and intentional neutrality. The theoretical discussion is followed by a case vignette illustrating the clinical usefulness of this differentiation.
Author: | Soh Agatsuma |
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Parent Title (English): | International Forum of Psychoanalysis, Abingdon (Routledge - Taylor and Francis) Vol. 23 (No. 4, 2014), pp. 238-245. |
Document Type: | Articles |
Language: | English |
Year of first Publication: | 2014 |
Release Date: | 2015/12/14 |
Format: | PDF-file upon request / PDF-Datei auf Anfrage |
IdNo: | Agatsuma_S_2014a |
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive: | Articles / Artikel |
Licence (German): |