Paul Wachtel - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Paul Wachtel

Research paper thumbnail of Part I / Conceptual And Historical Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of My Evolution as a Psychotherapist

Journal of contemporary psychotherapy, Jun 3, 2024

Psychotherapy has evolved over the past 50 years and many seasoned psychotherapists have evolved ... more Psychotherapy has evolved over the past 50 years and many seasoned psychotherapists have evolved as well. In the current paper, Dr Paul Wachtel summarizes his evolution as a psychotherapist. Dr. Wachtel is a Distinguished Professor in the Doctoral Training Program in clinical psychology at the City University of New York. For the past 50 years, Dr. Wachtel has been a prolific writer, a skilled clinician, and the chief advocate for integrating different theoretical orientations to enhance the field of psychotherapy. His extensive training in psychoanalysis provided a strong foundation on which to build a comprehensive and integrative view of psychotherapy. The paper provides a fascinating view of a skilled and prolific integrationist [N.B. Abstract created by the journal editor].

Research paper thumbnail of The Keys to the Prison: Michael Garrett's Integrative Approach to the Treatment of Psychosis

Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 2020

This discussion of Michael Garrett's (2020) case study, "Portrait of a Man Imprisoned in... more This discussion of Michael Garrett's (2020) case study, "Portrait of a Man Imprisoned in an Altered State of Consciousness: The Case of 'Sean,'" examines the integrative conceptualization and practice that is evident in the presentation. Among the themes explored are the particular way that Garrett approaches issues often conceived in the psychoanalytic literature as 'Oedipal' and 'preoedipal;' the role of corrective emotional experiences; the boundaries of self and other in subjective experience; the cyclical nature of the dynamics that maintain Sean’s guilt and his problematic life patterns; and the creative tactics through which Garrett integrates psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral perspectives in his efforts to help Sean escape from the repetitive pattern in which he is caught.

Research paper thumbnail of International journal of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Vol. 4, 1975

Research paper thumbnail of The Scope of Psychotherapy Integration: Introduction to a Special Issue

Clinical Social Work Journal

Research paper thumbnail of Consonances and controversies: Investigation and its discontents revisited

Applied and Preventive Psychology

... others that are likely to maintain those very expectancies, motives, and capacities (see, for... more ... others that are likely to maintain those very expectancies, motives, and capacities (see, for example, Alloy, Siegel-Fedderly, Kennedy-Moore, & Cohan, 1998; Berk & Andersen, 2000; Coyne, 1976; Coyne, Burchill, & Stiles, 1991; Darley & Fazio, 1980; Downey, Freitas, Michaelis ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Ambiguities of the “Real” in Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalytic Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of Pathways to Progress for Integrative Psychotherapy: Perspectives on Practice and Research

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

Research paper thumbnail of When the Context is in the Room: Extending the Relational Paradigm

Psychoanalytic Dialogues

Examining the approach to couples work described by Virginia Goldner, this commentary analyzes a ... more Examining the approach to couples work described by Virginia Goldner, this commentary analyzes a number of the most significant interventions introduced by Goldner, pointing to her skillful use of paradox, the ways in which her focus on her own participation in the events of the session enables the members of the couple to take more responsibility in ways that point toward repair, and the ways her interventions share properties with what I have elsewhere called attributional interpretations. The paper also offers a critique of the ways in which the metaphors of left-brain and right-brain can be overused and misleading.

Research paper thumbnail of Reflections on the Therapeutic Process

Psychoanalytic Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of From eclecticism to synthesis: Toward a more seamless psychotherapeutic integration

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of The Surface and the Depths

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges to Equality: Poverty and Race in America

... Contents Foreword Congressman John Lewis xiii Introduction Chester Hartman xv Part 1. Integra... more ... Contents Foreword Congressman John Lewis xiii Introduction Chester Hartman xv Part 1. Integration Civil Rights, Now and Then Julian Bond 3 ... Kairys 171 New Means for Political Empowerment: Proportional Voting Douglas J. Amy, Fred McBride, and Robert Richie 176 Race ...

Research paper thumbnail of Depth, Perception, and Action: Past, Present, and Future

Psychoanalytic Dialogues

This paper examines how images of depth are employed in the psychoanalytic literature and how the... more This paper examines how images of depth are employed in the psychoanalytic literature and how they illuminate or obfuscate. It examines as well the price of using familiar terminologies to introduce new ideas, a practice more common in psychoanalysis than in many other disciplines. By obscuring the differences between old ideas and new through using the same terminology for both, the sense of adherence and belonging to the psychoanalytic community is enhanced but the ability to see fully the new possibilities for theory and practice to which these new ideas point is constrained. In elaborating on this point, the paper also considers the differences between a past-centered, archaeological model and a model in which older patterns are perpetuated through their repeated consequences, both intended and unintended. In such a model both action and perception are taken into account, as the aim of analysis becomes not just the patient's internal world but her lived life.

Research paper thumbnail of On the limits of theoretical fundamentalism

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

Research paper thumbnail of On the Limits of Therapeutic Neutrality

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Vicious Circles

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond “ESTs”: Problematic assumptions in the pursuit of evidence-based practice

Psychoanalytic Psychology

There has been much confusion in the literature of psychotherapy between the broad concept of evi... more There has been much confusion in the literature of psychotherapy between the broad concept of evidence-based practice and the narrower set of criteria that have been employed in designating certain treatments as "empirically validated" or "empirically supported." In contrast to the appropriate concern with examining the evidence for the efficacy of various approaches to therapy and for the theoretical assumptions that underlie them, the "empirically supported treatments" movement has been characterized more by ideology and faulty assumptions than by good science. This paper examines in detail the scientific and logical limitations of the "EST" movement and aims to place the empirical investigation of theory and practice in psychotherapy on a sounder basis.

Research paper thumbnail of Toward the Integration of Individual Psychodynamic Theories and Family Systems Theories

Research paper thumbnail of The Silent Language of Psychotherapy: Social Reinforcement of Unconscious Processes. 2nd ed

Research paper thumbnail of Part I / Conceptual And Historical Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of My Evolution as a Psychotherapist

Journal of contemporary psychotherapy, Jun 3, 2024

Psychotherapy has evolved over the past 50 years and many seasoned psychotherapists have evolved ... more Psychotherapy has evolved over the past 50 years and many seasoned psychotherapists have evolved as well. In the current paper, Dr Paul Wachtel summarizes his evolution as a psychotherapist. Dr. Wachtel is a Distinguished Professor in the Doctoral Training Program in clinical psychology at the City University of New York. For the past 50 years, Dr. Wachtel has been a prolific writer, a skilled clinician, and the chief advocate for integrating different theoretical orientations to enhance the field of psychotherapy. His extensive training in psychoanalysis provided a strong foundation on which to build a comprehensive and integrative view of psychotherapy. The paper provides a fascinating view of a skilled and prolific integrationist [N.B. Abstract created by the journal editor].

Research paper thumbnail of The Keys to the Prison: Michael Garrett's Integrative Approach to the Treatment of Psychosis

Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 2020

This discussion of Michael Garrett's (2020) case study, "Portrait of a Man Imprisoned in... more This discussion of Michael Garrett's (2020) case study, "Portrait of a Man Imprisoned in an Altered State of Consciousness: The Case of 'Sean,'" examines the integrative conceptualization and practice that is evident in the presentation. Among the themes explored are the particular way that Garrett approaches issues often conceived in the psychoanalytic literature as 'Oedipal' and 'preoedipal;' the role of corrective emotional experiences; the boundaries of self and other in subjective experience; the cyclical nature of the dynamics that maintain Sean’s guilt and his problematic life patterns; and the creative tactics through which Garrett integrates psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral perspectives in his efforts to help Sean escape from the repetitive pattern in which he is caught.

Research paper thumbnail of International journal of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Vol. 4, 1975

Research paper thumbnail of The Scope of Psychotherapy Integration: Introduction to a Special Issue

Clinical Social Work Journal

Research paper thumbnail of Consonances and controversies: Investigation and its discontents revisited

Applied and Preventive Psychology

... others that are likely to maintain those very expectancies, motives, and capacities (see, for... more ... others that are likely to maintain those very expectancies, motives, and capacities (see, for example, Alloy, Siegel-Fedderly, Kennedy-Moore, & Cohan, 1998; Berk & Andersen, 2000; Coyne, 1976; Coyne, Burchill, & Stiles, 1991; Darley & Fazio, 1980; Downey, Freitas, Michaelis ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Ambiguities of the “Real” in Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalytic Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of Pathways to Progress for Integrative Psychotherapy: Perspectives on Practice and Research

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

Research paper thumbnail of When the Context is in the Room: Extending the Relational Paradigm

Psychoanalytic Dialogues

Examining the approach to couples work described by Virginia Goldner, this commentary analyzes a ... more Examining the approach to couples work described by Virginia Goldner, this commentary analyzes a number of the most significant interventions introduced by Goldner, pointing to her skillful use of paradox, the ways in which her focus on her own participation in the events of the session enables the members of the couple to take more responsibility in ways that point toward repair, and the ways her interventions share properties with what I have elsewhere called attributional interpretations. The paper also offers a critique of the ways in which the metaphors of left-brain and right-brain can be overused and misleading.

Research paper thumbnail of Reflections on the Therapeutic Process

Psychoanalytic Perspectives

Research paper thumbnail of From eclecticism to synthesis: Toward a more seamless psychotherapeutic integration

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of The Surface and the Depths

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges to Equality: Poverty and Race in America

... Contents Foreword Congressman John Lewis xiii Introduction Chester Hartman xv Part 1. Integra... more ... Contents Foreword Congressman John Lewis xiii Introduction Chester Hartman xv Part 1. Integration Civil Rights, Now and Then Julian Bond 3 ... Kairys 171 New Means for Political Empowerment: Proportional Voting Douglas J. Amy, Fred McBride, and Robert Richie 176 Race ...

Research paper thumbnail of Depth, Perception, and Action: Past, Present, and Future

Psychoanalytic Dialogues

This paper examines how images of depth are employed in the psychoanalytic literature and how the... more This paper examines how images of depth are employed in the psychoanalytic literature and how they illuminate or obfuscate. It examines as well the price of using familiar terminologies to introduce new ideas, a practice more common in psychoanalysis than in many other disciplines. By obscuring the differences between old ideas and new through using the same terminology for both, the sense of adherence and belonging to the psychoanalytic community is enhanced but the ability to see fully the new possibilities for theory and practice to which these new ideas point is constrained. In elaborating on this point, the paper also considers the differences between a past-centered, archaeological model and a model in which older patterns are perpetuated through their repeated consequences, both intended and unintended. In such a model both action and perception are taken into account, as the aim of analysis becomes not just the patient's internal world but her lived life.

Research paper thumbnail of On the limits of theoretical fundamentalism

Journal of Psychotherapy Integration

Research paper thumbnail of On the Limits of Therapeutic Neutrality

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Vicious Circles

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond “ESTs”: Problematic assumptions in the pursuit of evidence-based practice

Psychoanalytic Psychology

There has been much confusion in the literature of psychotherapy between the broad concept of evi... more There has been much confusion in the literature of psychotherapy between the broad concept of evidence-based practice and the narrower set of criteria that have been employed in designating certain treatments as "empirically validated" or "empirically supported." In contrast to the appropriate concern with examining the evidence for the efficacy of various approaches to therapy and for the theoretical assumptions that underlie them, the "empirically supported treatments" movement has been characterized more by ideology and faulty assumptions than by good science. This paper examines in detail the scientific and logical limitations of the "EST" movement and aims to place the empirical investigation of theory and practice in psychotherapy on a sounder basis.

Research paper thumbnail of Toward the Integration of Individual Psychodynamic Theories and Family Systems Theories

Research paper thumbnail of The Silent Language of Psychotherapy: Social Reinforcement of Unconscious Processes. 2nd ed