Insight and Interpretation

Insight and interpretation are crucial tools of the psychoanalytic process that have been neglected and misunderstood in recent psychoanalytic literature, where the focus has shifted to the effects of countertransference on the relationship between patient and analyst. Roy Schafer brings these tools back to the forefront of psychoanalytic thinking, integrating them with recent contributions on countertransference to create a more cohesive understanding of the psychoanalytic process. These essays will prove invaluable to analysts trying to maintain an articulated and rounded view of what it takes to bring meaning to their patient's lives through the power of insight and beneficial interpretations.

Roy Schafer has sixty years of experience as a psychoanalytic therapist, during which time he has been an active teacher in his own Institutes and a guest lecturer and teacher in many others in the U.S. He has contributed to numerous English language psychoanalytic journals and his books and articles have been translated into several languages. He has held academic positions as Clinical Professor at Yale and Cornell University Medical Schools. He was the first Freud Memorial Professor 1975-76 at University College London. He has received many honours from his colleagues and in 2009 the International Psychoanalytical Association honoured him with its prestigious Scientific Achievement Award.