ABSTRACT
Harry Stack Sullivan, one of the founders of Interpersonal psychoanalysis, developed the technique of the detailed interview. In The Psychiatric Int:erPiew Sullivan (1954) presented a thorough description of the technique and how it relates to Interpersonal theory. One of Sullivan's central concepts is that in order to understand people, you have to know how they deal with the important people in their lives. Free association alone will not accomplish this goal. The therapist must also ask questions. Zucker (1989) points out that "the keynote of Sullivan's methods was individual inquiry rather than the application of concepts" (p. 5). Since Sullivan, other Interpersonal analysts have modified both Interpersonal theory and practice, but the therapeutic use of detailed inquiry remains an essential technique in Interpersonal psychoanalysis.
