Toward an Emancipatory Psychoanalysis: Brandchaft’s Intersubjective Vision

Best known for his contributions to the development of contemporary intersubjectivity theory, Bernard Brandchaft has dedicated a career to the advancement of psychoanalytic theory and practice. Continually searching for a theoretical viewpoint that would satisfactorily explain the clinical phenomena he was encountering, his curiosity eventually led him to the work of Heinz Kohut and the then-emerging school of self psychology. However, seemingly always one step ahead of the crowd, Brandchaft constantly reformulated his ideas about and investigations into the intersubjective nature of human experiences.

Many of the chapters in this volume have never before been published. Together, they articulate the evolution of Brandchaft''s thinking along the road toward an emancipatory psychoanalysis. Moreover, commentary from Shelley Doctors and Dorienne Sorter - in addition to Bernard Brandchaft himself - examines the clinical implications of the theoretical shifts that he advocated and provides a contemporary context for the case material and conclusions each paper presents. These theoretical shifts, both clear and subtle, are thereby elucidated to form the grand narrative of a truly visionary psychoanalytic thinker.

Bernard Brandchaft, M.D., is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Institute and Founding Analyst of the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, as well as Faculty Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine. He is the author of numerous articles and books, co-authoring (with George Atwood and Robert Stolorow) Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach (Analytic Press, 1987) and The Intersubjective Perspective (Jason Aronson, 1994).

Shelley R. Doctors, Ph.D., is Faculty and Supervising Analyst at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity and the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, in New York City, and at the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Washington, DC. She is a member of the International Council of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology and on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Affiliated with the International Society for Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology since its inception, she served as its Secretary for 12 years. Her publications often feature developmental themes.

Dorienne Sorter, Ph.D., LCSW, is Faculty and Supervising Analyst at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, New York City, and a member of the Council of the International Association of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology. She is the co-author of Forms of Intersubjectivity in Infant Research and Adult Treatment (Other Press, 2005).