This book, first published in the year of the author's death, expresses
Mitchell's vision for the theory of relational psychoanalysis, and
provides his most-developed expression of its foundations. Now
republished in this Classic Edition, Mitchell's ideas are brought back
to the psychoanalytic readership, complete with a new introduction by
Donnel Stern.
In his final contribution to the psychoanalytic literature, the late
Stephen A. Mitchell provided a brilliant synthesis of the interrelated
ideas that describe the relational matrix of human experience.
Relationality charts the emergence of the relational perspective in
psychoanalysis by reviewing the contributions of Loewald, Fairbairn,
Bowlby, and Sullivan, whose voices converge in apprehending the
fundamental relationality of the human mind.
Mitchell draws on the multiple dimensions of attachment,
intersubjectivity, and systems theory in espousing a clinical approach
equally notable for its responsiveness and responsible restraint. This
remains a canonical text for all relational psychoanalysts and
psychotherapists.