Description
In The Power of Specificity in Psychotherapy: When Therapy Works-And When It Doesn't Howard Bacal presents specificity theory, a contemporary process theory of psychotherapy that holds that therapy happens at the fit between the patient's particular therapeutic needs and the therapist's capacity to respond to them, both of which will emerge and change within the unique process of each particular dyad. Specificity theory challenges the traditional method and epistemology of psychoanalysis, wherein the understanding of the patient and the therapeutic response are apprehended through rules and prescriptions that are generated through the application of structure theories. The therapeutic engagement must necessarily and continually be monitored and adjusted to fit the specific and changing needs, capacities, and limitations of both participants, regardless of the therapist's formal working theories. Grounded in the innovative thinking of Sandor Ferenczi and drawing as well from the creative work of Michael Balint, Wilfred Bion, Donald Winnicott, Marion Milner, and Heinz Kohut, the perspectives of specificity theory are corroborated by cutting-edge findings in contemporary neurobiology and infant research. The Power of Specificity in Psychotherapy challenges psychotherapists to reconsider how treatment is optimally practiced.
About the Author
Howard A. Bacal, MD, is a training and supervising analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, and supervising analyst at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity and the National Training Program in Contemporary Psychoanalysis in New York. He has a private practice in Los Angeles, California. He is co-author of Theories of Object Relations: Bridges to Self Psychology, and editor of Optimal Responsiveness: How Therapists Heal Their Patients. Lucyann Carlton, PsyD, JD, is a training and supervising analyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, and she has a private practice in Irvine, California.
Reviews
Building on and synthesizing a half century of practice and personal analytic experiences with the likes of Balint, Winnicott, Bion, Milner, and Kohut, Howard Bacal offers us a broadly relational, process theory that addresses the heart of all psychotherapy and its supervision: the specifics of fittedness between patient and therapist as well as the unique match between therapist and supervisor. It is just this that was neglected for so long in psychoanalytic theory and practice that is now presented so clearly, and richly integrated with contemporary neuroscience and infancy research. -- Lewis Aron, PhD, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
The Power of Specificity In Psychotherapy expands and deepens our understanding of therapeutic action and the change process. Specificity theory is as groundbreaking as it is orienting for the therapist or analyst who wonders why accepted doctrine and standardized technique so frequently do not work. Presented in a well-written, articulate, and accessible manner, Bacal's cutting-edge approach to reconceptualizing therapeutic interaction and to appreciating the uniqueness of relational engagement frees us from our reliance upon linear, codified, and objectivist methodologies aimed at therapeutic change. In true contextualist, process-based fashion, Bacal conveys a deep respect for the individual and the uniqueness of the dyadic engagement-without which patients, and therapists, are otherwise so often rendered less than human. Grounded in personal lived experience as well as current research, this must-read book is as immediately clinically useful as it is scholarly and expansive of theory. -- William J. Coburn Ph.D, Psy.D., editor, International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology
Bacal's lucidly written and richly illustrated book is a pleasure to read. Both seasoned clinicians and beginners will find a freshness in his approach. Thinking about the specificity that emerges in the process of the dyad of patient and therapist or the triad of supervisor, supervisee, and patient makes each clinical exchange a unique opportunity for emotional growth and learning. -- Judy L. Kantrowitz, PhD, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Harvard Medical School
Book Information
ISBN 9780765707697
Author Howard A. Bacal
Format Hardback
Page Count 180
Imprint Jason Aronson Publishers
Publisher Jason Aronson Publishers
Weight(grams) 447g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 166mm * 19mm
About the Author
Howard A. Bacal, MD, is a training and supervising analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, and supervising analyst at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity and the National Training Program in Contemporary Psychoanalysis in New York. He has a private practice in Los Angeles, California. He is co-author of Theories of Object Relations: Bridges to Self Psychology, and editor of Optimal Responsiveness: How Therapists Heal Their Patients. Lucyann Carlton, PsyD, JD, is a training and supervising analyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, and she has a private practice in Irvine, California.
Reviews
Building on and synthesizing a half century of practice and personal analytic experiences with the likes of Balint, Winnicott, Bion, Milner, and Kohut, Howard Bacal offers us a broadly relational, process theory that addresses the heart of all psychotherapy and its supervision: the specifics of fittedness between patient and therapist as well as the unique match between therapist and supervisor. It is just this that was neglected for so long in psychoanalytic theory and practice that is now presented so clearly, and richly integrated with contemporary neuroscience and infancy research. -- Lewis Aron, PhD, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
The Power of Specificity In Psychotherapy expands and deepens our understanding of therapeutic action and the change process. Specificity theory is as groundbreaking as it is orienting for the therapist or analyst who wonders why accepted doctrine and standardized technique so frequently do not work. Presented in a well-written, articulate, and accessible manner, Bacal's cutting-edge approach to reconceptualizing therapeutic interaction and to appreciating the uniqueness of relational engagement frees us from our reliance upon linear, codified, and objectivist methodologies aimed at therapeutic change. In true contextualist, process-based fashion, Bacal conveys a deep respect for the individual and the uniqueness of the dyadic engagement-without which patients, and therapists, are otherwise so often rendered less than human. Grounded in personal lived experience as well as current research, this must-read book is as immediately clinically useful as it is scholarly and expansive of theory. -- William J. Coburn Ph.D, Psy.D., editor, International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology
Bacal's lucidly written and richly illustrated book is a pleasure to read. Both seasoned clinicians and beginners will find a freshness in his approach. Thinking about the specificity that emerges in the process of the dyad of patient and therapist or the triad of supervisor, supervisee, and patient makes each clinical exchange a unique opportunity for emotional growth and learning. -- Judy L. Kantrowitz, PhD, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Harvard Medical School
Book Information
ISBN 9780765707697
Author Howard A. Bacal
Format Hardback
Page Count 180
Imprint Jason Aronson Publishers
Publisher Jason Aronson Publishers
Weight(grams) 447g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 166mm * 19mm
