On perspectives, theories, models, and friends: A reply to the relationalists.

The authors respond to the "relational" issue of Psychoanalytic Psychology (PP; Vol. 12, No. 1) and support Karol Marshall's remonstration about the need to clarify what exactly the category relational refers to. It is noteworthy that in this issue of PP the relational thinkers do not engage the specific topics of our essay. The author's article attempted to review the most comprehensive relational thinkers of that time across theoretical variables. Relationalists have begun to spell out the technical consequences of their perspective in recent discussions of neutrality, authority, and self-disclosure, among other issues. This is a useful trend in the relational literature, and we hope it continues. We are concerned, however, that the relational thinkers writing in this issue tend to dismiss the contributions to PP 12(1) because the perspectives presented there did not satisfy the relationalist vision of how scientific exchange should be undertaken. Although we feel that it is important for emerging points of view to be able to elaborate assumptions, constructs, and principles within their own framework and in their own way, constructive dialogue, much less a comparative analysis of the contributions and limitations of different points of view, requires that we have some common ground. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational models in psychoanalytic theory.

Explores basic relational tenets that affect the psychoanalytic situation. The relational perspective's contribution to psychoanalysis is the elaboration of the psychic dynamics generated in the interpersonal field. Contributions from relational and interpersonal thinkers focus attention on important issues (e.g., the impact on the analytic process of the person of the analyst, the nature of interaction, the structure of the unconscious). This focus has enriched psychoanalytic dialog but has also generated questions concerning the theoretical foundations of the relational model. The concepts of transference, the dynamic unconscious, resistance, the method of free association, and the nature of conflict are aspects of the psychoanalytic situation that may be particularly affected by assumptions of the relational perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Evolution Drive in Contemporary Psychoanalysis: A Reply to Gill (1995).

Replies to M. Gill's (see record 1995-33111-001) comment on the J. L. Bachant et al (see record 1995-33102-001) article concerning relational theories of psychoanalysis. Bachant et al explain how drives are viewed within contemporary classical theory and discuss 2 issues (dynamic unconscious and biopsychosocial forces) that distinguish classical and relational models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Near‐wake flow simulation of a vertical axis turbine using an actuator line model

In the present work, the near‐wake generated for a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) was simulated using an actuator line model (ALM) in order to validate and evaluate its accuracy. The sensitivity of the model to the variation of the spatial and temporal discretization was studied and showed a bigger response to the variation in the mesh size as compared with the temporal discretization. The large eddy simulation (LES) approach was used to predict the turbulence effects. The performance of Smagorinsky, dynamic k‐equation, and dynamic Lagrangian turbulence models was tested, showing very little relevant differences between them. Generally, predicted results agree well with experimental data for velocity and vorticity fields in representative sections. The presented ALM was able to characterize the main phenomena involved in the flow pattern using a relatively low computational cost without stability concerns, identified the general wake structure (qualitatively and quantitatively), and the contribution from the blade tips and motion on it. Additionally, the effects of the tower and struts were investigated with respect to the overall structure of the wake, showing no significant modification. Similarities and discrepancies between numerical and experimental results are discussed. The obtained results from the various simulations carried out here can be used as a practical reference guideline for choosing parameters in VAWTs simulations using the ALM.     

Intrapsychic and interactive dimensions of resistance: A contemporary perspective.

An integration of contemporary perspectives on resistance analysis is presented that emphasizes the salience of both intrapsychic and interactive dimensions of this phenomenon. Viewed as embodying desperate psychological imperatives imbued with unconscious infantile misconceptions, resistance is presented as serving multiple functions and encompassing aspects of all mental action within the psychoanalytic situation. Finding the analytic resources to exploit its relevant meanings is described as a central and indispensable aspect of working in depth. Several basic strategies for working with these phenomena are delineated in this article and the continued usefulness of understanding the role of resistance as guardian of psychic equilibrium is highlighted. Emphasis is given to safeguarding an analytic relationship that both sustains the patient and provides a vehicle for the exploration and modification of resistant activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary on Reisner's "Reclaiming the metapsychology".

S. Reisner's (see record 1992-16438-001) article and R. Holt's (see record 1992-27289-001) commentary promulgate serious misunderstandings of the place of relational considerations both in the Freudian corpus and in the writings of 2nd- and 3rd-generation theorists. Specifically, the contention that ego psychologists narrowed and systematized a rendition of Freud as a drive theorist for whom endogenous, biological, and nonpsychological force is central and relational dynamics are peripheral is challenged. The contributions of these theorists are highlighted and compared with Reisner's and Holt's contentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free association and analytic neutrality: the basic structure of the psychoanalytic situation

This paper re-examines within a contemporary context an essential foundation of classical technique, the psychoanalytic situation. Defined in terms of basic elements of psychoanalytic relatedness which make possible the most profound exploration of human motivation, its core structure is viewed as an extraordinary interpersonal arrangement anchored by two clearly differentiated yet complimentary ways of relating: free-association and analytic neutrality. The patient's role, organized by the prerequisites of expressive freedom, is counter posed with the psychoanalyst's, which is structured to empower listening and understanding. Elaborating the parameters of this unique relationship, the authors emphasize the synergic effects of each participants' activity in creating a vehicle for destabilizing neurotic equilibrium. An extensive discussion of analytic neutrality, conceived as guiding ideal that informs all the analyst's attitudes and actions in the exploration of psychic reality, is presented. Specifically, the authors distinguish three essential dimensions which bear upon the interactive process: neutrality with regard to conflict, neutrality with regard to sequence, and neutrality with regard to transference. In contrast to the rigid constraint on human responsiveness often caricatured in the literature, this vision of technical neutrality establishes its vital contribution to the integrity, depth, and tone of any analytic process that unfolds.