Working with Sandler's Theories

My contribution to this issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry highlights not only Sandler's prodigious successes but also those aspects of his work that remain ambiguous. These uncertainties derive in part from his effort to integrate different frames of reference in his conceptualizations. The bits of theory that clinicians actually use in the consulting room tend to simplify, revise, and even contradict the more complex theories Sandler developed. Some of Sandler's proposals may be seen as retrainings of earlier theory at different levels of abstraction, and hence more compatible with them than generally acknowledged. I note the inclusion of Kleinian strains, which Sandler legitimized for non-Kleinian analysts, and conclude with a consideration of the “identity of perception” as a fundamental aspect of cognition and a territory yet to be fully explored.