Introduction

This introduction presents the work of three colleagues—Stephen H. Cooper, Ken Corbett, and Stephen Seligman—writing on the importance of reverie, silence, internal work in and by the analyst as a crucial interface with relational and intersubjective analytic work. All three consider their work an engaged critique of the focus on action and interaction in relational accounts of process. The panel includes commentary by Anthony Bass and Donnel B. Stern and a collective response to the discussions by Cooper, Corbett, and Seligman. This introduction considered the potential for internal critique within a relational community, considers the group process in which critique may be produced, and encourages the development of ways of exploring difference.