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‘That Most Difficult of Words’: A Therapeutic Relationship Across Divides

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Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a therapeutic relationship of ten years' duration between an African American adolescent with severe conduct difficulties and anti-social behaviors, and a white, liberal Orthodox Jewish psychoanalyst. The developing capacity to mentalize and consider self in relation to other as well as the negotiation and reconciliation of various selves are two clinical concepts used to examine this seemingly improbable, yet undeniably, powerful relationship.

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Aronson, S. ‘That Most Difficult of Words’: A Therapeutic Relationship Across Divides. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies 3, 45–58 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026431319812

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026431319812

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