What is the intersubjective field? Through the lens of intersubjectivity, we understand that our own subjectivity is a part of the patient’s world, and the interplay of the two subjectivities becomes the focus of empathic and sensitive exploration. No longer a one-person intrapsychic psychology, we are now exploring the field created by two subjectivities. Through this perspective, treatment expands in a fluid, creative and multidimensional manner.
Intersubjective self psychologists enter the patient’s world with an empathy that is not only a way of listening but “a continual and mutual process that occurs between analyst and patient.” (R. Geist, Microprocess). Our empathy is informed by the keen awareness that we are, on an on-going basis, having an impact on the subjectivity and the emotional/experiential world of our patient, and thus the field between us. What unfolds therefore in the therapeutic dyad is at all times co-determined by both the subjectivity of the patient and the subjectivity of the analyst. And what we are analyzing is the field that is created by the intersection of these two subjectivities, and the meanings this field assumes for the patient.
In the case that I’ll present on October 30th, and George Hagman will discuss, we’ll consider how my psychological and emotional organization have influenced the treatment and how the interplay of my emotional world with my patient’s shaped what has emerged. Articulating these themes will provide rich material for discussion of the ever-shifting intersubjective field. Come join us at the next discussion in our Primer in Intersubjective Self Psychology series; hope to see you there!
Posted by Leslie Lampe Long
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