Analysis of Transference, Vol 2: Studies of Nine Audio-Recorded Psychoanalytic Sessions (Psychological Issues, Monograph 54)

In this volume, Drs. Gill and Hoffman illustrate how they believe analysis of the transference should be carried out. Their annotations to the transcripts of nine analytic sessions call attention to how the patient may be experiencing the analytic relationship in the here-and-now interaction. "What we categorically reject," the authors assert, "is the attempt to distinguish transference and nontransference on the grounds that the former has either no basis or only a trivial basis in current reality, whereas the latter is reality-based. On the contrary, the transference is usually organized around significant contributions from the analyst in the here-and-now, and the best transference interpretations usually include references to these contributions as plausibly construed by the patient."

A major contribution of this volume is the very presentation of unabridged analytic sessions -something quite rare in the literature. As Drs. Gill and Hoffman point out, "the case study approach has never been adequately complemented by either systematic research utilizing independent judges or the original data or by clinical reporting that gives the analytic and scientific communities access to those data as a basis for evaluating the conclusions of the presenters or authors. This volume is a contribution toward filling this gap in the analytic literature. Its purpose will be well served if, in addition to illustrating concretely our particular point of view on technique and eliciting constructive criticism, it stimulates others to present their data in a similar format. With Volume I, Dr. Gill put forward his reconceptualization of the analysis of transference. Volume II convey just how this new approach affects therapeutic practice.