ABSTRACT
Original conceptions of analytic neutrality and the interchangeability of the analyst did not withstand the emerging changes to psychoanalytic conceptions. Sigmund Freud's metaphor of psychoanalytic process as an archeological expedition and as a search for genetic truth was rejected. In the movement away from American ego psychology and drive-based intrapsychic models in general, there was a relative de-emphasis on psychoanalytic theory and increased attention was given to therapeutic process. Edgar Levenson was influenced by and expanded the work of Sullivan. In Levenson's hands the interpersonal approach was further developed from a psychoanalytic perspective. Psychoanalytic process is described as proceeding in a psychological, intersubjective field. New theoretical models and new approaches to clinical technique evolved out of the various approaches of the first wave of psychoanalytic field theory in North America. The bi-personal psychoanalytic field models of this period in North America rely on a core of commonly held themes.
