ABSTRACT
“Interpretation,” the bedrock of Freud’s clinical approach, has become the subject of much controversy in both object relations theory and relational and intersubjective theories. In this chapter I attempt to cool the often overheated rhetoric on the subject and offer a view of this intervention that respects and acknowledges its dangers and shortcomings while recognizing its contribution to our therapeutic work.
This is the fourth chapter in this section which deals with factors and processes that effect change. Unlike the processes discussed in the three preceding chapters, which tend to be unconscious as much as conscious, and passive as much as active, interpretation involves a conscious and deliberate action by the therapist.
