Overview

A chronically striving, self-made man addresses his therapist in the deeply resonant tone of authority, but the therapist notices that at the edge of his voice there is a raspiness that sounds like someone holding back tears. A female patient pauses, and suddenly the coolly superior tone of a black professional woman embattled in a white male world gives way to the soft, teasing voice of a little girl - equally suddenly, the topic of the session has shifted to women, women's bodies, and pregnancy. Such nuances and shifts in the music of the patient's voice have long been familiar to clinicians. Indeed, as Steven Knoblauch observes in this study, the music of psychotherapy has been acknowledged across a variety of theoretical orientations, from Freudian to self-psychological to interpersonal and relational perspectives. But how, he asks, can we go beyond these partial assessments and make systematic sense of this music? How do we assess the opportunities it provides for deepened therapeutic engagement? In this book, Knoblauch provides a model of ""resonant minding"" in which the musical elements of speech become a major source of information about unconscious communication and action. More specifically, resonant minding, by distinguishing between discrete and continuous levels of communication, between the verbal and the musical, offers a way of accessing and affecting levels of unconscious interactive process by attending to the musical edge of dialogue - provided only that we can hear it.

Full Product Details

9780881632972

Table of Contents

Reviews

<p> Analytic therapists have long known that the messages conveyed by both partners in the therapeutic dialogue contain far more than verbal text. Now Steven Knoblauch explicates and illustrates exactly how issues of tone, pitch, rhythm, accent, and pause enter into our work. His special quality as a writer shines through in the richness of the clinical examples that illuminate every page. Never have the metaphors of music received such expressive application to treatment. The Musical Edge of Therapeutic Dialogue opens the reader to an expanded appreciation of the substrate of empathy and introspection. <p>- Joseph Lichtenberg, M.D., Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry<p> Over the course of the last decade, it has become apparent just how profoundly personal the practice of psychoanalysis is. For each of us, clinical work closely reflects personal history, aesthetic and intellectual sensibility, one's take on life. Drawing on his deep understanding of and love for jazz, Steven Knoblauch has

Analytic therapists have long known that the messages conveyed by both partners in the therapeutic dialogue contain far more than verbal text. Now Steven Knoblauch explicates and illustrates exactly how issues of tone, pitch, rhythm, accent, and pause enter into our work. His special quality as a writer shines through in the richness of the clinical examples that illuminate every page. Never have the metaphors of music received such expressive application to treatment. The Musical Edge of Therapeutic Dialogue opens the reader to an expanded appreciation of the substrate of empathy and introspection. - Joseph Lichtenberg, M.D., Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry Over the course of the last decade, it has become apparent just how profoundly personal the practice of psychoanalysis is. For each of us, clinical work closely reflects personal history, aesthetic and intellectual sensibility, one's take on life. Drawing on his deep understanding of and love for jazz, Steven Knoblauch has written a beautiful book about the subtle, interactive textures of the analytic process, its rhythmic patterns as well as its semantics, its tones as well as its symbols. For anyone who struggles daily with the enormous complexities of analytic work, The Musical Edge of Therapeutic Dialogue offers, like a good piece of music, an enriching experience. - Stephen A. Mitchell, Ph.D., Founding Editor, Psychoanalytic Dialogues An enjoyable aspect of this book is that the flow of Knoblauch's writing harmonizes with his ideas. He establishes a musical rhythm in his case illustrations such that the material comes alive, and the reader can easily accompany him. The music of his writing captures the lapses, withdrawals, and drawing close of intimate relations. - Ephi J. Betam, JAPA The applicability of his musical notions to the therapeutic craft is completely convincing to the classical-music-oriented connoisseur. Therapists of other (or less artistic) preferences may reframe his notions in terms more comfortable to them but will surely benefit from the wisdom and depth of the treatment formulations carried in this volume. - Abram Chipman, American Journal of Psychotherapy

Analytic therapists have long known that the messages conveyed by both partners in the therapeutic dialogue contain far more than verbal text. Now Steven Knoblauch explicates and illustrates exactly how issues of tone, pitch, rhythm, accent, and pause enter into our work. His special quality as a writer shines through in the richness of the clinical examples that illuminate every page. Never have the metaphors of music received such expressive application to treatment. The Musical Edge of Therapeutic Dialogue opens the reader to an expanded appreciation of the substrate of empathy and introspection. - Joseph Lichtenberg, M.D., Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry Over the course of the last decade, it has become apparent just how profoundly personal the practice of psychoanalysis is. For each of us, clinical work closely reflects personal history, aesthetic and intellectual sensibility, one's take on life. Drawing on his deep understanding of and love for jazz, Steven Knoblauch has written a beautiful book about the subtle, interactive textures of the analytic process, its rhythmic patterns as well as its semantics, its tones as well as its symbols. For anyone who struggles daily with the enormous complexities of analytic work, The Musical Edge of Therapeutic Dialogue offers, like a good piece of music, an enriching experience. - Stephen A. Mitchell, Ph.D., Founding Editor, Psychoanalytic Dialogues An enjoyable aspect of this book is that the flow of Knoblauch's writing harmonizes with his ideas. He establishes a musical rhythm in his case illustrations such that the material comes alive, and the reader can easily accompany him. The music of his writing captures the lapses, withdrawals, and drawing close of intimate relations. - Ephi J. Betam, JAPA The applicability of his musical notions to the therapeutic craft is completely convincing to the classical-music-oriented connoisseur. Therapists of other (or less artistic) preferences may reframe his notions in terms more comfortable to them but will surely benefit from the wisdom and depth of the treatment formulations carried in this volume. - Abram Chipman, American Journal of Psychotherapy

Author Information

Steven H. Knoblauch, Ph.D., is a faculty member and supervising analyst at The Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, and The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center, all in New York City.  In his early 20s, Dr. Knoblauch pursued a dual career in community mental health and as a jazz musician.  He entered psychoanalytic training 17 years later and has endeavored to integrate his musical experience into his clinical practice. 

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available