ABSTRACT
The concept of intersubjectivity has experienced a remarkable growth in psychoanalysis worldwide but especially in North America, touching almost every school and grouping. This chapter focuses on the history of this development and some of the ways it has been understood by different authors. It begins by searching the PEP archive for examples of the term “intersubjectivity” in psycho analytic journals and was surprised to find how much its use has boomed. The chapter suggests that the popularity of intersubjectivity indicates a convergence in the development of different theoretical schools that have moved toward the so-called two-person model of mental functioning and clinical process, of which it represents a further step. Many clinicians recognize the necessity of devoting greater attention to the countertransference, but often with the aim of using their own thoughts and feelings to interpret what a patient desires of them or of what is taking place in his mind.
