Recent developments in the technical approaches of English-language psychoanalytic schools

This paper summarizes developments in the major approaches to Psychoanalyti c technique derived from the ego psychology, Kleinian, British independent, self psychology, intersubjectivist, and interpersonal schools over the Pas t fifty years. The author proposes that two major contemporary currents may be differentiated from each other, namely, the Psychoanalytic "mainstream" -derived from contemporary Kleinian, contemporary Freudian, and British ind ependent sources, and the "intersubjectivist-interpersonal-self psychology" current. In significant contrast to these two major currents within the English-lang uage psychoanalytic approaches, the French Psychoanalytic school has evolve d a unique third approach to analytic technique. The author proposes that t hese three currents constitute the dominant trends regarding technique in c ontemporary psychoanalytic practice. The paper concludes with a brief outli ne of the characteristics of each of these technical approaches.