Structures of Subjectivity: Explorations in Psychoanalytic Phenomenology (Psychoanalytic Inquiry, Vol. 4) [Paperback]

George E. Atwood (Author), Robert D. Stolorow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

The first of the three Analytic Press books in which Stolorow and Atwood (later with the collaboration of Bernard Brandchaft) reformulate psychoanalysis as a science of human intersubjectivity. Here the authors explore the "structures of subjectivity" that organize the subjective world, focusing on intersubjectivity in development, in pathogenesis, and in the therapeutic situation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I found the book thought-provoking, stimulating, and well-written. The authors have great respect for the process of the clinical situation and the need to develop theories which conform to direct experiences with patients. The concepts they discuss represent an advance in the level of scientific discourse. All practicing psychoanalysts will be involved in the continuing dialogue about analytic theory, and this book provides a thoughtful contribution to this process."

- Jeffrey Trop, M.D., Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Bulletin

"In short, this is an immensely valuable book not only because it is so astute at what it succeeds at, but also because its theorizing serves a profoundly heuristic function.  I am unreserved in my endorsement of this volume, particularly so for group therapists who work with the interstices of multiple subjectivities."

- Ronald N. Puddu, Group 

About the Author

Robert D. Stolorow, Ph.D. is a Founding Faculty Member and Training and Supervising Analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles, a Founding Faculty Member at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, New York City, and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He has coauthored four other books for the Analytic Press: Trauma and Human Existence (2007), Working Intersubjectively: Contextualism in Psychoanalytic Practice (1997), Contexts of Being: The Intersubjective Foundations of Psychological Life (1992), and Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach (1987).

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881631663
• ISBN-13: 978-0881631661
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,543,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a clear, readable intro, July 3, 2001

By 

Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Structures of Subjectivity: Explorations in Psychoanalytic Phenomenology (Psychoanalytic Inquiry, Vol. 4) (Paperback)

Thanks to what I've been taught, I began my studies in psychoanalytic intersubjective theory with the bias that the focus would be on between rather than within. This book avoids that error by placing even emphasis on what happens inside the patient and between patient and therapist. The authors blend self psychology, object relations, and other fields to lay out an elegant exploration of interacting subjectivities.

The conceptualization of psychopathology as either pathological structure OR missing psychic structure is particularly helpful and shows the common ground between self psychology (which tends to see things in terms of disintegration) and object relations (which at its worst regards the patient as a person full of toxic objects...a convenient notion when the therapy isn't going well!).

The authors also contend that selfobject transferences aren't so much a type of transference as a dimension that runs through all transferences--indeed, all relationships to varying degrees.

The book starts out with a lot of philosophy, in order to establish a context for perspectives presented later. Some of it was interesting, but most a rehash.

The only real problem I had with this book is that it wasn't long enough. So I guess I'll have to read more books by these authors.