On not being heard: Response to Gargiulo (2007) and Mills (2007).

Replies to comments made by G. Gargiulo (see record 2007-16468-013) and J. Mills (see record 2007-16468-014) on the current author's original comments (see record 2007-00135-013) on an article by K. Maroda (see record 2007-00135-012). I stand by the extensive clinical evidence that I have garnered, which indicates that a revised version of Freud's topographic theory is superior to his structural theory as a platform for psychoanalytic understanding and technique. I support my position here by citing some original contributions made by the adaptive approach and then highlight adaptive insights into patients' archetypal, unconscious perceptions of the moral implications of a therapist's use of a home office. I conclude with a discussion of why psychoanalysts have rejected the adaptive approach out of hand. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

One mind or two: Divergent views of the home-office setting: Commentary on Maroda (2006).

Comments on the article by K. J. Maroda (see record 2007-00135-012) which discussed ethical considerations of the home office. This article draws on the strong adaptive finding that the emotion-processing mind houses two relatively independent operating systems with very different perceptions, values, and adaptive preferences. In deciding ground rule issues, the conscious system is defensive, denial-prone, self-defeating, variable from one therapist to the next, and unreliable. In contrast, the deep unconscious system is relatively nondefensive, functions on the basis of archetypes and universals and is consistent across therapists, serves the best interests of all parties, and is trustworthy. This system universally experiences the home-office setting as a departure from the ideal, healing, archetypal frame and as harmful to all concerned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Gargiulo (2007) and Mills (2007).

Replies to comments made by G. J. Garguilo (see record 2007-16468-013) and J. Mills (see record 2007-16468-014) on the current author's original article (see record 2007-00135-012). The author responds to her critics, who feel she was accusing them of being unethical and even immoral by having a home office. She clarifies that at no time did she use any of this language, nor was this her intent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Systematic empirical investigation of vulnerability to postpartum depression from a psychodynamic perspective": Reply to Besser et al.

I appreciate the thoughtful and constructive comments Besser et al. (see record 2008-03991-016) have offered regarding the original article (see record 2007-00135-004) and mention some thoughts for further consideration concerning the relationship between empirical research and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychodynamic techniques: Working with emotion in the therapeutic relationship.

Reviews the book, Psychodynamic techniques: Working with emotion in the therapeutic relationship by Karen J. Maroda (see record 2010-01318-000). What makes Maroda’s work particularly remarkable, however, is that she not only manages to identify and explicate aspects of technique, but that the range of skills she addresses all converge on what can seem like an especially mystifying topic to new clinicians: the use of emotion in the therapeutic relationship. Maroda’s pragmatic tone seems to effortlessly weave concrete skills through the particularly vaporous topic of using emotion productively. The result is an admirably unmechanistic set of principles to aid clinicians in navigating the complex emotional terrain of the therapeutic relationship in a manner consistent with their own personal styles. One of the major strengths of Psychodynamic techniques is its breadth, and Maroda provides a good balance, including both general and specific issues related to the role of emotion in the therapeutic process. Despite the overall consistency of her attunement to the experience of the newer clinician, some of what Maroda stresses as vital to the therapeutic relationship may be unrealistic. The process of reading the book parallels the process of a successful therapy in which one has come to engage with and trust her guide and emerges a more flexible, confident, insightful person and professional. Maroda’s continued reassurances and frank openness to sharing her own vulnerabilities leaves the reader feeling infused with a sense of possibility that a fuller, deeper therapeutic relationship is possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Systematic empirical investigation of vulnerability to postpartum depression from a psychodynamic perspective: Commentary on issues raised by Blum (2007).

In a recent paper, Lawrence Blum (2007; see record 2007-00135-004) identified emotional conflicts in three areas typical in postpartum depression: (1) dependency, (2) aggression, and (3) motherhood. In this commentary, the authors consider agreements and disagreements with Blum's views on the psychodynamics of postpartum depression. In contrast to Blum's assertion, a theoretically derived extensive empirical psychoanalytic database exists which confirms and extends Blum's analysis of the core dynamics involved in this disorder. This recent research derives primarily from the comprehensive theoretical framework proposed by Blatt (1974, 2004, 2006, 2008) on the psychodynamics of depression that are part of a broad theory of normal and pathological personality development which Blum (2007), in his otherwise thorough search of the literature, seems to have overlooked. The authors close with reflections on how psychoanalysis and psychodynamically inspired research might increasingly influence mainstream clinical practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ethics of asking about abuse and the harm of "don't ask, don't tell."

Replies to comments by J. Read (see record 2007-07130-012), D. Gleaves et al (see record 2007-07130-013), V. Edwards et al (see record 2007-07130-014), M. Black and R. Black (see record 2007-07130-015), and S. Ullman (see record 2007-07130-016), which raised important points about the authors' original article (see record 2006-03947-003). Those comments extend our thinking about how to ask participants about abuse in an ethical way. Together, the comments point to the importance of researchers examining our own reasons for asking--or not asking--about abuse and of paying attention to how we respond when we ask. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity is a compelling interest, and affirmative action is an important strategy for achieving it.

Responds to comments made by Pipes (see record 2007-01685-011) and Kuncel and Sackett (see record 2007-01685-012) on the current authors' original article (see record 2006-01690-003). The current authors respond to the various points raised in the commenting articles, and suggest that diversity is a compelling interest and affirmative action is one means of achieving it. They stand by their original challenge, with the caveat that they do recognize that some tests may predict certain educational outcomes with similar reliability across diverse populations. They suggest that an increase in diversity in psychology would promote a robust exchange of ideas and would be of value to all. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and psychodynamic psychotherapy: A case study.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(1) of Psychoanalytic Psychology (see record 2007-00135-015). An error was made in the reproduction of figures 5 and 6. The corrected versions are provided with the erratum.] During a short term, psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy, a college student's salient constructs regarding her self and her object representations were elicited via the Role Construct Repertory Test. The course of this psychotherapy is traced and is examined with regard to the information provided by component analyses of these repertory grids. The aims of this article are to demonstrate the utility of an independent measure such as repertory grids for 1) additional understanding of the patient's modes of construing self and others; 2) establishing meaningful foci for a short-term treatment; 3) providing information for a more considered set of interpretive interventions regarding key conflicts; and 4) considering changes and outcome in light of the foci of the treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Consciousness and the voices of the mind": Response to the discussants.

In planning the McMaster University Brain and Behaviour Research Programme's 1983 Bauer lecture, it was deemed that a topic in the area of cognitive neuroscience might be suitable, preferably one of a general nature that would be of interest to several disciplines. Consciousness, one of the most perplexing of human issues, requires that we question how the living material of the human brain results in the subjective awareness humankind experiences. Julian Jaynes was asked to present the lecture, which was entitled "Consciousness and the voices of the mind" (see record 2007-08986-001). In this article, Jaynes responds to comments on his lecture by Daniel Dennett (see record 2007-09336-002), Jonathan Miller (see record 2007-09336-003), and George Ojemann (see record 2007-09336-004). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metatheoretical Shifts and Extraclinical Data: Comment on Langs (2005).

R. Langs's (see record 2005-01622-004) strong adaptive approach (SAA) represents an important contribution to psychoanalysis, with noteworthy theoretical and clinical implications. In delineating and evaluating the SAA, Langs incorporated findings from outside of psychology and from studies of analytic sessions. This response argues that a rigorous assessment of the SAA requires attention to research findings from other areas of psychology (e.g., cognitive, social) as well. Implications of these studies for Langs's conceptualization of conscious and unconscious information processing and the role of death anxiety in human mental life are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The power of countertransference: Innovations in analytic technique.

Reviews the book, The power of countertransference: Innovations in analytic technique by Karen J. Maroda (see record 1994-98465-000). This is a remarkable and provocative book. On first examination, I thought it was going to be another diatribe against psychoanalytic theory and practice. In the introduction and first chapter, which Maroda entitles: "The Myth of Authority," she points out all of the flaws that she sees in the typical attitude of psychoanalytically oriented analysts. She criticizes the so-called "neutrality" of the analytic position, the authoritarian position of the analyst and the excess emphasis of interpretation as the most critical aspect of the "cure" in psychoanalysis. The rest of the book, however, focuses on countertransference techniques; that is, how to accomplish the countertransference. Maroda's clinical vignettes and technical discussions are detailed and useful. Although one might take issue with some specific clinical points, her discussion is well formulated and her case well argued. This is a rather brief and, at first blush, simple book. It is, however, an important statement of a position on countertransference that is both ground breaking, and a careful exposition. It is one that needs serious attention by both students and advanced clinicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competing paradigms for anorexia nervosa.

The current author comments on the articles from the April 2007 American Psychologist special issue on eating disorders. The current author states that the contributors to this special issue are to be commended for acknowledging lack of progress in understanding, classifying, and treating anorexia nervosa (AN). They highlighted the acute need to refine diagnosis (see record 2007-04834-004), understand comprehensive causal mechanisms to tune treatments and transcend "hodgepodge diagnoses" (see record 2007-04834-005), study functional neural circuits and link behavior with "genomic, cellular, and systems data" (see record 2007-04834-003), and develop effective treatments (see record 2007-04834-006). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on theory, epistemology, and experience in the practice of family therapy.

Replies to the comments of S. Golann (see record 1989-40688-001) and H. A. Guttman (see record 1989-40690-001) on the work of P. R. Falzer (see record 1989-40687-001). It is suggested that as a brutal negation of family therapy's constructions and as an unrefusable offer to examine its prejudices, habits, and customs, G. Bateman's (1979) cybernetic epistemology has already provided a valuable service. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the clarification of concepts: A Reply to Gallistel (2007) and Lau (2007).

The authors argue that some of C. R. Gallistel's (see record 2007-14606-005) and H. C. Lau's (see record 2007-14606-006) solutions to the problems raised in the article by A. Machado and F. J. Silva (see record 2007-14606-004) are unlikely, logically inconsistent, or at odds with empirical evidence. In particular, Lau seems not to appreciate the necessity of clear and consistent psychological constructs before trying to map these constructs to brain structure and function. The authors conclude that conceptual analysis is a much needed component of the scientific method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on my critics.

Allan R. Buss responds to Bavelas' and Macdonald's criticisms of Buss's article (see record 1976-26634-001) on the evaluation of Canadian psychology departments. Buss says that Bavelas' (see record 2007-04411-001) criticisms are, in the main, important, insightful, and fundamentally correct and that Macdonald's (see record 2007-04410-001) criticisms are, in contrast to Bavelas', highly original, unimportant, and fundamentally incorrect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotions and appraisals: Can you have one without the other?

In his commentary on M. Siemer and R. Reisenzein (2007; see record 2007-02169-001), B. Parkinson (2007; see record 2007-02169-002) raised a number of important questions concerning the process of emotion inference and the scope of appraisal theories. Siemer and Reisenzein first examine the alternative explanations of their findings proposed by Parkinson and then look at the alternative "situated" view of emotions proposed by him. The main conclusion is that the issues raised by Parkinson can be dealt with by (suitable extensions of) appraisal theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Mahrer.

Replies to Mahrer's response (see record 2007-09057-001) to the current author's book review (see record 2007-09053-001). Mahrer raises some important questions and submits that different approaches differ significantly in the categories they use to make sense of what clients do, and that each has its own way of eliciting, listening to and observing what the client says and does. I agree that approaches differ on these features and believe that what we listen for and how we make sense of what we hear is the most fundamental aspect of any therapeutic approach. In fact training in an approach involves not only learning the intervention skills of the approach, which is the easy part, but learning when and how to use the intervention, which is based on listening and process diagnosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)