ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author aims to illuminate the clinical theories that therapists carry with them into sessions where they operate implicitly, directing their attention to select sorts of data that are then used to fashion an intervention. This, then, is the ultimate lesson of the Clinical Moments Project—to learn how to listen to how therapists listen to the unfolding material. The author talks about analysts ("commentators") of varying theoretical persuasions to weigh in, sharing what they think about the situation and how they imagine they might have proceeded. The author’s introduction captures well the various factors that play a role in beginning a treatment, and the special problems in working with those who are narcissistically vulnerable. Mindful of their difficulties, he reflects on how to integrate the intrapsychic and interpersonal components of the psychoanalytic process, a position many of us struggle to maintain.
