Overview
Although clinical interpretation originated with Freud, the latter's positivist preference for purely observational methods made him ambivalent toward interpretive methods. According to Rubovits-Seitz, the legacy of Freud's positivism still pervades clinical thinking and interferes with progress in investigating and improving interpretive methods. He reviews the paradigm shift in general science from positivism to postpositivism by way of demonstrating the compatibility of interpretive inquiry with a postpositivist approach. Post-Freudian models of clinical interpretation are evaluated, andclinical methods of interpretation are compared with interpretive approachesin nonclinical fields. A detailed discussion of the neglected problem ofjustifying interpretations incorporates evaluations of specific justifyingprocedures and a case report illustrating applications of such methods. Thework concludes with a consideration of common but avoidable errors in clinicalinterpretation along with remedial strategies for dealing with them. Following Depth-Psychological Understanding, clinicians may no longer take for granted the interpretive process and the accuracy of their own interpretations. Rubovits-Seitz's scholarly survey marks a major advance in comprehending the methodology of clinical interpretation and in setting forth both the problems and promise of interpretive methods.
Full Product Details
Author: Philip F. D. Rubovits-Seitz
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.657kg
ISBN: 9781138005402
ISBN 10: 1138005401
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 05 February 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
I read Depth-Psychological Understanding, enraptured as by a detective thriller. For 100 years psychoanalysis has been plagued by the crucial problem of interpretation, strangely neglected by Freud, his disciples, and their critics. Rubovits-Seitz examines the question with wide-ranging erudition, clinical sensitivity, philosophical sophistication, and scrupulous intellectual honesty. It is an amazing scholarly achievement that will be the definitive treatise for years to come. - Paul E. Meehl, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Regents Professor of Psychology, Emeritus As our view of the world shifts ever further from the belief that truth is given, the time has come to take a fresh look at the problem of interpretation. We could find no better guide that Philip Rubovits-Seitz. In a scholarly, optimistic, and wide-ranging survey, he helps us see the underlying commonality that binds psychoanalysis to the other interpretive disciplines and to the unexplored field of commonsense psychology. In doing so, he helps us guard against the temptation to substitute pattern-making for pattern-finding and encourages us to join in the search for better answers to this age-old problem. Highly recommended. - Donald P. Spence, Ph.D., author, Narrative Truth and Historical Truth In this truly monumental synthesis of the philosophical and human sciences (including psychoanalytic science) as they bear on the mental processes of drawing inferences and making interpretations, Rubovits-Seitz eschews both the extreme positivist vision of absolute certainty and truth-finding in human affairs and the equally extreme relativist vision of 'anything goes' in regard to both fact and theory. Within this framework, he provides a magisterial exposition of all the vexing problems, daunting complexities, and inevitable limitations involved in the 'impossible but necessary' task of fashioning the most plausible interpretation and justifying it evidentially. - Robert S. Wallerstein, M.D., Past President, American Psychoanalytic Association
I read Depth-Psychological Understanding, enraptured as by a detective thriller. For 100 years psychoanalysis has been plagued by the crucial problem of interpretation, strangely neglected by Freud, his disciples, and their critics. Rubovits-Seitz examines the question with wide-ranging erudition, clinical sensitivity, philosophical sophistication, and scrupulous intellectual honesty. It is an amazing scholarly achievement that will be the definitive treatise for years to come. - Paul E. Meehl, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Regents Professor of Psychology, Emeritus As our view of the world shifts ever further from the belief that truth is given, the time has come to take a fresh look at the problem of interpretation. We could find no better guide that Philip Rubovits-Seitz. In a scholarly, optimistic, and wide-ranging survey, he helps us see the underlying commonality that binds psychoanalysis to the other interpretive disciplines and to the unexplored field of commonsense psychology. In doing so, he helps us guard against the temptation to substitute pattern-making for pattern-finding and encourages us to join in the search for better answers to this age-old problem. Highly recommended. - Donald P. Spence, Ph.D., author, Narrative Truth and Historical Truth In this truly monumental synthesis of the philosophical and human sciences (including psychoanalytic science) as they bear on the mental processes of drawing inferences and making interpretations, Rubovits-Seitz eschews both the extreme positivist vision of absolute certainty and truth-finding in human affairs and the equally extreme relativist vision of 'anything goes' in regard to both fact and theory. Within this framework, he provides a magisterial exposition of all the vexing problems, daunting complexities, and inevitable limitations involved in the 'impossible but necessary' task of fashioning the most plausible interpretation and justifying it evidentially. - Robert S. Wallerstein, M.D., Past President, American Psychoanalytic Association
Author Information
Philip F. D. Rubovits-Seitz, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University Medical Center. He was previously Director of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University; Visiting Professor of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati; and Staff Member, The Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. He has received a number of national and other awards for research and teaching.
