ABSTRACT
This chapter presents author's own research on technique and grounds these methods with superb contributions from several master clinicians, expanding the primary competencies. In 1912, Sigmund Freud compared psychoanalysis to the game of chess where only the opening and closing of the game admit of exhaustive systematic description. A qualitative research study was conducted using in-depth interviews of 15 psychoanalysts identified with contemporary theories of relational psychoanalysis. To analyze the data, Grounded Theory Analysis (GTA) was chosen because, much like psychoanalysis, GTA is "emergent, is broadly constructivist and subjective, relying a great deal on hermeneutics while recognizing the importance of scrutiny and careful analysis". Though more research is needed in our field to arrive at any definitive word about technique, this study establishes distinctive competencies, consistent with theory and previous research, that can assist in teaching and supervision as well as in future research between treatment processes and outcomes.
