[Pragmatism or methodology? Psychoanalytically oriented 10 session counseling within the scope of supervision]

Contrary to the widespread opinion that a short-term setting can do little more than provide purely cognitive insights, Scharff demonstrates that such a setting can indeed provide a significant initial understanding of psychodynamic processes. In the author's view the matter hinges on three things: a well-defined psychoanalytic stance; a psychoanalytic understanding; and a psychoanalytic approach to those coming for counsel. If the supervisor displays a methodologically clear-cut psychoanalytic approach, the counsellor will gain confidence in his feelings of counter-transference and this will enable him to use these as an analytic instrument and put his finger on the unconscious facets of the central conflict affecting the client. In the author's view, concepts such as projective identification, unconscious role-assumption and action dialogue are of special significance for the understanding of psychodynamics. A vast range of different aspects of 10-hour counselling are demonstrated with reference to a variety of examples.