The Psychotherapeutic Relationship: 40 Years of Learning to be with Patients

“Mine has, in every respect, been a career of humble accomplishments. Yet, I’ve worked with men and women of genius – some celebrated, some not. They’ve taught me a great deal about dynamic psychotherapy that I want to pass on to a younger generation of psychotherapists.”

I believed early in my career that I would be educated in a theory (ego psychology) and would practice it happily ever after. What happened instead was that I ran into life situations that forced me to question my beliefs. I met men and women who believed differently than I and convinced me of the importance of their views. I worked with different clinical supervisors who exposed me to new ways of thinking about human development, how it may go awry, and how it might once again find its footing. Finally, I worked with different therapists in my personal therapy and learned how unique each therapeutic dyad is.”