A Conversation With Donald H. Blocher

Donald H. Blocher has been a major contributor and advocate in the field of counseling psychology for more than 30 years. He has written six books, more than 60 book chapters and journal articles, and has had several publications translated into international journals. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from Harvard University, and a Fulbright Lecturer in the United Kingdom. Donald Blocher was interviewed on the occasion of his retirement after a distinguished career. In this conversation he discusses a wide range of provocative ideas as he looks back at his life as a developmental psychologist.     

Object-Relations Theory: A Dialogue with Donald B. Rinsley

Object-relations (O-R) theory expands traditional psychoanalytic thinking beyond psychiatric hospitals and “patients.” This approach focuses on emotional development that leads to normal or disturbed behavior. O-R theory is presented here to acquaint counselors with its basic concepts, its practical applications, and its impact on current psychological thought.     

中西方心理治疗思想之比较

中西方文化中都蕴含着丰富的心理治疗思想,相似之处主要表现在二者都重视心理因素等方面;差异主要表现在文化根基、医学基础、心理问题的起因及治疗的理念、方法与途径等方面。在实际的心理治疗和心理健康教育中,应注意心理治疗的文化依存性,积极挖掘整理本土文化心理治疗的理论与方法,实现心理治疗的本土化。     

中西方心理治疗思想之比较

中西方文化中都蕴含着丰富的心理治疗思想,相似之处主要表现在二者都重视心理因素等方面;差异主要表现在文化根基、医学基础、心理问题的起因及治疗的理念、方法与途径等方面.在实际的心理治疗和心理健康教育中,应注意心理治疗的文化依存性,积极挖掘整理本土文化心理治疗的理论与方法,实现心理治疗的本土化.     

Introduction to Group-Analytic Psychotherapy by S. H. Foulkes

This article will explore special leader issues that emerge in psychodynamically oriented therapy groups with adult children of alcoholics. Particular focus will be on countertransference feelings that get stirred up in group leaders and techniques for dealing with some of these special dilemmas. Specific issues include (a) assumption of sameness between the therapist and the patient (the therapist assuming that he or she “understands” because of having also grown up in an alcoholic family); (b) the “will to restore,” which may be destructive when the therapist, whose own self-esteem is dependent on the patient's progress in therapy, forces a “rush to recovery” on the patient; (c) other personal issues in the life of the therapist that may also resonate with experiences of the patient; (d) “countertransference goodness and availability” as it affects therapists' abilities to set reasonable limits on their patients, as well as reasonable expectations for themselves; and (e) special issues regarding therapist transparency and self-disclosure.     

Group Psychotherapy by Florence B. Powdermaker and Jerome D. Frank

Subjective countertransference can sharply limit any group leader's effectiveness. However, a therapist can use the group itself to identify such a bias and to remove it as an influence. A five-step method for doing this is presented. These steps begin with introspection but hinge upon the analyst's turning to the group for the vital information that, in the end, clarifies the analyst's own perceptions and helps him or her free the group from the harmful effects of any bias.     

Psychotherapy Research and Psychoanalytic Practice: Commentary on Papers by Lester Luborsky and Hans H. Strupp

I discuss the views of Lester Luborsky (quite optimistic) and of Hans H. Strupp (less so) concerning the accumulating evidence for the favorable impact of psychoanalytic therapy research, as it has grown over recent decades, in shaping clinical psychoanalytic activity. I offer my perspectives on their views of the issues of (a) the effectiveness of psychoanalytic (psychodynamic) therapies vis-à-vis the varieties of nonanalytically based therapies; (b) long-term (time-unlimited) vis-à-vis short-term (time-limited) therapy, (c) the call for empirically supported treatments (ESTs), (d) the call for randomized clinical trials (RCTs), (e) the trend toward “manualization” of therapy approaches, and (f) the light that all these considerations can cast on the extent to which, and how, psychoanalytic therapy helps.