ABSTRACT
Equality—a complex and multifaceted concept—between patient and analyst is often associated with the Relational approach. Using one paper by Bromberg and one by Davies to illustrate, this chapter will discuss two kinds of equality between patient and analyst: (a) The first, operating continuously and often just beyond one’s awareness, is the need both participants have to maintain their own self-esteem, their own internal sense of goodness. This need, equally vital to patient and analyst, unconsciously motivates and gives shape to enactments. (b) The second kind of equality discussed in this paper, “radical equality,” is a discrete experience that becomes particularly salient in the aftermath of the resolution of enactments. Radical equality is a central aspect of the therapeutic action of enactments and their resolution.
Bromberg trained in the interpersonal school, while Davies has been most influenced by object-relations theory. Their papers will also be used to imagine how the Interpersonal and Object-relational wings of the Relational school might critique each other. In particular, differences in clinical stance, understanding therapeutic action, and key relational concepts (i.e., self-states, dissociation, and enactment) will be discussed.
