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On some clinical implications of action language.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1982
Summary
Schafer's action language may hinder therapeutic progress by creating patient-analyst conflict and discouraging deep analytic exploration. This approach risks premature clarification over nuanced discovery, potentially undermining the unconscious process.
Area of Science:
- Psychoanalysis
- Psychotherapy Research
Background:
- Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the exploration of unconscious processes.
- Schafer's action language focuses on conscious actions and responsibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically examine the clinical implications of Schafer's action language in psychoanalysis.
- To identify potential drawbacks of an action-oriented approach in analytic therapy.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical critique of action language based on psychoanalytic principles.
- Analysis of potential negative impacts on the therapeutic alliance and analytic process.
Main Results:
- Action language can create an adversarial patient-analyst dynamic, hindering the therapeutic alliance.
- It may lead to premature clarification, replacing ambiguous metaphors and impeding analytic discovery.
- Emphasis on conscious mechanisms risks rationalization over insight and devalues the concept of the unconscious.
- Prioritizing clarity over metaphor may discourage essential, exploratory self-analysis.
Conclusions:
- Schafer's action language presents significant clinical challenges in psychoanalytic practice.
- The approach may inadvertently obstruct the core aims of psychoanalytic exploration and insight.
- Clinicians should be mindful of these potential pitfalls when employing action-oriented language.