Interpretation and Interaction

A careful and expert study of diverse change-inducing processes, this book differentiates interactive psychotherapy and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy from each other and from psychoanalysis. Current theoretical issues of empathy, interpretation, dreams, and transference are usefully addressed. The result is an outstandingly rich psychodynamic contribution. - Mardi Horowitz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF In Interpretation and Interaction, Jerome Oremland cogently reexamines psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in terms of the relative contributions of the two variables - interpretation and interaction - that enter into all therapeutic endeavors. Oremland's conception and clinical examples of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, which he radically differentiates from all types of interactive psychotherapy, carve out a conceptual niche for a genre of psychotherapy that may be said to be fully analytic in relation to technique, therapeutic action, and treatment goals. Merton Gill's dialogue with Oremland adds rich texture to a work that is theoretically provocative and clinically consequential. - Jerome A. Winer, M.D., Editor, The Annual of Psychoanalysis One of the most interesting and important questions in the whole area of psychological treatment and clinical practice today concerns the relationship of psychotherapy to psychoanalysis. As opportunities for formal, traditional psychoanalyses diminish, psychoanalytic theory and teaching become increasingly vital to the diverse and expanding practice of psychotherapy. But the issues and questions concerning the relationship between psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are complex and difficult. Interpretation and Interaction makes a significant contribution to these crucial problems, and it does so in an unusual and refreshing way. Jerome Oremland, in a thoughful and systematic fashion, evaluates the essentials of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Oremland's contribution responds to, and critiques, the seminal work of Merton Gill, and readers of the book will enjoy the pleasure of a final chapter by Gill in which he responds to Oremland's presentation. The result is a lively and stimulating dialogue on some of the thorniest conceptual and technical problems facing all contemporary clinicians. - Stephen A. Mitchell, Founder, Psychoanalytic Dialogues As a practitioner of both psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, I found Jerome Oremland's monograph admirably concise, challenging, and very relevant both to my clinical work and to my teaching. - L. David Levi, M.D., Psychoanalytic Books