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ABSTRACT
Intersubjectivity can be defined as the union or contact of the subjectivities (Gordon, 1991). In therapy, it refers to the interaction between therapist and patient, and the processes that affect and are affected by that interaction. The essence of these interactions in the setting of group therapy, the obstacles that may arise because of them, and ways in which the therapist may identify and facilitate intersubjectivity in order to promote discourse that will enrich the sessions are discussed. I briefly touch upon earlier theories of psychoanalysis, demonstrating how changes in approaches influenced perceptions of what occurs in therapy. The unique place of intersubjectivity within the group analytic setting is emphasized using several vignettes from sessions I have led as a group analyst candidate to better illustrate how intersubjectivity can be observed in vivo.
The role of intersubjectivity in the clinical setting has long been discussed and was deemed significant enough to be termed "the analytic third" by Ogden (1994), thus describing the unique product of the interplay between therapist and patient. Mitchell (2000) claims that the intersubjective engagement between patient and analyst is the very vehicle for the deep characterological change psychoanalysis facilitates. This process is more complex in group analysis, where there are multiple interactions; that is, between the therapist and each participant, between the therapist and the group, and among the participants.
Stolorow, Atwood, and Ross coined the term "intersubjectivity" in 1978 referring to any psychological field formed by interacting worlds of experience (Stolorow 8c Atwood, 1992). They contend that emotional experience is always regulated by and constituted within an intersubjective context, and that all psychological knowledge is inherently subjective (Schermer, 2000). The introduction of this concept in therapy is no trivial matter, as it differs from the perception of the analyst as a neutral, objective, "all-knowing" observer, and suggests a far more active role as a participant and contributor in the exchange.
Early theories of group analysis as seen by Foulkes (1938/1990) are based on the idea that if people are formed by and as interrelational entities, then it is not only helpful and therapeutic but also imperative that they be treated within an interrelational context (Lavie, 2005). The link to intersubjectivity is easily made, yet interestingly enough, these early...