The “Rituals” of the Relational Perspective: Theoretical Shifts and Clinical Implications

This paper attempts a closer look at the theoretical foundations for some of the clinical shifts that underlie a relational psychoanalytic approach. It also posits that what unites relational writers who come from different psychoanalytic traditions—that is, Freudian, Kleinian, Object Relations, Self Psychology—has more to do with the kinds of questions asked than with the particular answers that are offered. Specifically these questions have to do with the epistemological basis for how we know what we know as analysts, the model of mind we employ to understand our patients, and the mode of therapeutic action that evolves from these two earlier shifts. Several clinical examples are offered.