It has been 35 years since the publication of Heinz Kohut's monumental book, The Analysis of the Self, in 1971, and in this period self psychology has undergone a vibrant and exciting evolution that has significantly influenced and expanded the range of psychoanalytic thinking. While undergoing this change, self psychology has kept the developmental importance of self-object relatedness and the primacy of subjective experience as central tenets of the theory. But where other theories of mind can tend to stagnate and resist innovations that transcend their founding figure, Kohut's self psychology continues to grow in depth, complexity and richness. Indeed one of the great strengths of the self psychology movement has been the openness of the succeeding generations to push the theoretical envelope to entertain, examine and integrate new understandings and perspectives. New Developments in Self Psychology Practice gives voice to many of these developments, reflected in its four sections. The first section examines complexity theory, attachment theory and the work of the Boston Change Study Group. The second section is concerned with the treatment of children, while the third section examines various treatment modalities such as family therapy, group therapy, and supervisory process. The final section looks at diversity, difference, and otherness within both the therapeutic dyad and therapeutic community and considers how shame, enactments and traumatic experiences influence the therapeutic process."

It has been 35 years since the publication of Heinz Kohut's monumental book, The Analysis of the Self, in 1971, and in this period self psychology has undergone a vibrant and exciting evolution that has significantly influenced and expanded the range of psychoanalytic thinking. While undergoing this change, self psychology has kept the developmental importance of self-object relatedness and the primacy of subjective experience as central tenets of the theory. But where other theories of mind can tend to stagnate and resist innovations that transcend their founding figure, Kohut's self psychology continues to grow in depth, complexity and richness. Indeed one of the great strengths of the self psychology movement has been the openness of the succeeding generations to push the theoretical envelope to entertain, examine and integrate new understandings and perspectives. New Developments in Self Psychology Practice gives voice to many of these developments, reflected in its four sections. The first section examines complexity theory, attachment theory and the work of the Boston Change Study Group. The second section is concerned with the treatment of children, while the third section examines various treatment modalities such as family therapy, group therapy, and supervisory process. The final section looks at diversity, difference, and otherness within both the therapeutic dyad and therapeutic community and considers how shame, enactments and traumatic experiences influence the therapeutic process."

Practicing Intersubjectively describes how the intersubjective systems perspective informs, shapes and guides the psychotherapeutic process. Using extensive clinical case material, Buirski illustrates the way an intersubjective systems sensibility informs and enriches clinical practice. The intersubjective systems perspective views each treatment as exquisitely context sensitive. This means that the person who comes for therapy would present differently to different therapists and the two of them would construct different processes. Therapists themselves are not interchangeable, and the intersubjective field that the two participants create together would be quite different from the field created by any other pair. Practicing Intersubjectively, with the focus on attuning and articulating to the contextual construction of personal worlds of experience enables a different therapy process to unfold than occurs in traditional 1-person, authority based treatment approaches and is uniquely suited to working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and those suffering from such challenging concerns as trauma and prejudice.

Practicing Intersubjectively describes how the intersubjective systems perspective informs, shapes and guides the psychotherapeutic process. Using extensive clinical case material, Buirski illustrates the way an intersubjective systems sensibility informs and enriches clinical practice. The intersubjective systems perspective views each treatment as exquisitely context sensitive. This means that the person who comes for therapy would present differently to different therapists and the two of them would construct different processes. Therapists themselves are not interchangeable, and the intersubjective field that the two participants create together would be quite different from the field created by any other pair. Practicing Intersubjectively, with the focus on attuning and articulating to the contextual construction of personal worlds of experience enables a different therapy process to unfold than occurs in traditional 1-person, authority based treatment approaches and is uniquely suited to working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and those suffering from such challenging concerns as trauma and prejudice.

As in raising children, in which each unique parent and child pair emerges from the ongoing, mutually influencing relationship, so it is with therapists and patients. Peter Buirski argues that intersubjectivity is founded on two assumptions: First, our moment-by-moment experience of ourselves and the world emerges within a dynamic, fluid context of others; and, second, that we can never observe things as they exist in isolation. It follows, then, that therapy is not a search for some objective truth, but what is most helpful is the quality of the relationship constructed in therapy, the personal engagement of patient and therapist. Practicing intersubjectively produces an understanding and appreciation of process. Time pressures or goal-directedness do not promote unfolding and illuminating. Patients are striving for health, attempting to correct disappointing, destructive, or traumatizing experiences with their original caregivers, and long for an antidote to ward off such painful affects as shame or self-loathing. From the intersubjective perspective, resistance, or attempts to thwart the therapist's efforts, may be seen as healthy striving for self-protection. Demonstrating these points with vivid clinical examples, Buirski discusses the key aspects of the relational model and offers clear and practical guidelines for therapists.

As in raising children, in which each unique parent and child pair emerges from the ongoing, mutually influencing relationship, so it is with therapists and patients. Peter Buirski argues that intersubjectivity is founded on two assumptions: First, our moment-by-moment experience of ourselves and the world emerges within a dynamic, fluid context of others; and, second, that we can never observe things as they exist in isolation. It follows, then, that therapy is not a search for some objective truth, but what is most helpful is the quality of the relationship constructed in therapy, the personal engagement of patient and therapist. Practicing intersubjectively produces an understanding and appreciation of process. Time pressures or goal-directedness do not promote unfolding and illuminating. Patients are striving for health, attempting to correct disappointing, destructive, or traumatizing experiences with their original caregivers, and long for an antidote to ward off such painful affects as shame or self-loathing. From the intersubjective perspective, resistance, or attempts to thwart the therapist's efforts, may be seen as healthy striving for self-protection. Demonstrating these points with vivid clinical examples, Buirski discusses the key aspects of the relational model and offers clear and practical guidelines for therapists.