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The presence of the third party: systemic therapy and transference analysis
Author(s) -
Bertrando Paolo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-6427
pISSN - 0163-4445
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6427.00224
Subject(s) - third party , psychotherapist , systemic therapy , therapeutic relationship , frame (networking) , psychoanalytic theory , psychology , clinical practice , core (optical fiber) , medicine , computer science , nursing , telecommunications , internet privacy , cancer , breast cancer
While today many therapists try to integrate different therapeutic models, it does not seem easy to define the specific clinical features of each model. In this article, the practice of systemic individual therapy is compared to the psychoanalytic practice of transference analysis. The relevant distinction is found in the different use of third parties within the therapeutic frame. In systemic therapy, the third party is ‘presentified’ within the therapeutic dialogue, which becomes centred on external relationships, while in transference analysis the third party is subsumed to the therapeutic (transferential) relationship, which is considered the core of therapy. The practical consequences of those two different ‘technologies of the self’ are discussed.