The Legacy of Sándor Ferenczi

A giant in the history of psychoanalysis, Sandor Ferenczi developed ideas about the analytic situation and the patient-analyst relationship that anticipate key insights of contemporary psychoanalytic thought. Yet, only in recent years has Ferenczi begun to receive the recognition he deserves. In The Legacy of Sandor Ferenczi, editors Lewis Aron and Adrienne Harris have brought together leading Ferenczi scholars from around the world to specify Ferenczi's place in psychoanalytic history and to reevaluate his contributions in the light of current theory and practice. The volume begins with a scholarly introduction by Aron and Harris, who argue that Ferenczi's life work is foundational to what has become contemporary relational psychoanalysis. Their historical overview sets the stage for original contributions that are organized into three sections. In "Constructing and Reconstructing the Historical Record," contributors examine Ferenczi's work in historical context, relate his ideas to his intimate dialogue with Freud, and explore the life of one of Ferenczi's most important patients, "RN," with whom he collaborated in his technical experiments with mutual analysis. In "Bridges, Emigres and Inheritors," contributors assess Ferenczi's impact on subsequent generations of analysts. His influence on British object relations theory and American interpersonal psychoanalysis is clarifed through chapters on his personal and professional impact on Michael Balint, Erich Fromm, and Clara Thompson. In the final section, "Clinical Implications," and in the "Postscript," contributors consider the diverse ways in which Ferenczi's clinical work continues to inspire and guide analysts in our own time. Individual chapters focus on his ideas on telepathy and parapsychology, his clinical experiments with mutual analysis between analysand and analyst, his understanding of intimacy in the analytic relationship, and his ideas on therapeutic regression. A richly engrossing contribution to the history of psychoanalysis, The Legacy of Sandor Ferenczi is an essential text for locating the roots of contemporary approaches to psychoanalytic treatment. It will be turned to repeatedly by all who wish to learn about this most brilliant of Freud's early followers, a theorist and clinician who grappled courageously and imaginatively with the very challenges that animate psychoanalysis in the present. Cover ......Page 1 Front Flap ......Page 2 Half Title ......Page 3 Title ......Page 5 Copyright ......Page 6 Dedication ......Page 7 Contents ......Page 9 Contributors ......Page 13 Introduction ......Page 16 1. Sandor Ferenczi: Discovery and Rediscovery ......Page 21 I. Constructing and Reconstructing the Historical Record ......Page 58 2. Ferenczi's Preanalytic Period Embedded in the Cultural Streams of the fin de Siecle ......Page 62 3. Ferenczi and the Origins of Psychoanalytic Technique ......Page 74 4. Ferenczi's Relevance to Contemporary Psychoanalysis Technique ......Page 96 5. Ferenczi and Sexuality ......Page 102 6. The Case of "RN": Sandor Ferenczi's Radical Experiment in Psychoanalysis ......Page 122 7. Ferenczi's Contributions to Psychoanalysis: Essays in Dialogue ......Page 142 II. Bridges, Emigres, and Inheritors ......Page 162 8. Michael Balint: Analysand, Pupil, Driend, and Successor to Sandor Ferenczi ......Page 166 9. Clara Thompson: Ferenczi's Messenger with half a Message ......Page 180 10. Sandor Ferenczi and American Interpersonal Relations: Historical and Personal Reflectinos ......Page 199 11. Ferenczi's Influence on Fromm ......Page 209 III. Clinical Implications ......Page 223 12. Flowing Over - Transference, Countertransference, Telepathy ......Page 231 13. Abandoned Workings: Ferenczi's Mutual Analysis ......Page 241 14. Collusion and Intimacy in the Analytic Relationship: Ferenczi's Legacy ......Page 251 15. Clinical Aspects of Malignant Regression ......Page 273 IV. Postscript ......Page 287 16. What Can We Learn from Ferenczi Today? ......Page 289 Index ......Page 301 Back Flap ......Page 317 Back Cover ......Page 318 Blank Page......Page 57 Blank Page......Page 73 Blank Page......Page 198 Blank Page......Page 208 Blank Page......Page 272 This text explores Sandor Ferenczi's ideas about the analytic situation and the patient analyst relationship that anticipate key insights of contemporary psychoanalytic thought.