Balancing Empathy and Interpretation: Relational Character Analysis

According to Josephs, when we avoid remaining rigidly stuck in any one way of working, we can learn from all perspectives. Dr. Josephs's own point of view centers on one simple recommendation: to maintain a dynamic balance between empathy and analysis. It is an easy recommendation to make but difficult to implement. Through the re-examination of classic case studies from Freud to Kohut, the author demonstrates how one can balance the rigorous analysis of the patient's character resistances - the most narcissistically injurious aspect of psychoanalysis - with a deep empathy for the patient's subjective self-experience - the most healing aspect of psychoanalysis.