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PARTISAN REVIEW
economic factors - and reminded us that observation of children,
their early language behavior and their physical symptoms rather
than reliance on "developmental phases," had led to new knowledge
about adults. And she pointed to the various influences of psycho–
analysis on child psychiatry, particularly in her emphasis on a hu–
manistic, subjective approach.
By the time Paulina Kernberg finished , members in the au–
dience, and particularly the Hungarians, were bursting with ques–
tions . How do you implement these very abstract theories , they kept
asking in one way or another. Otto Kernberg then elaborated on the
differences between interpretations to a patient "in the here and
now" at the level of his/her understanding and conceptualizations of
psychic processes; and he illustrated his points with cases , with how
he had drawn on his own emotions in order to experience those of his
patients . He, Arnold Cooper, and Paul Ornstein had some repartee
about self-psychology and drew a few laughs. Ivan Lust recounted
how he had been shaken up by the traumatic memories of one of his
patients and had re-experienced some of these emotions at this very
meeting while reporting the case ; and he quoted the German ana–
lyst, Hermann Argelander, for whom the psychoanalytic dialogue is
a "search together" that makes for a specific type of closeness . After
another round of heated exchanges on clinical practices , and after
Helen Meyers had reminded everyone that , ultimately, an analyst's
response to a patient comes out of his/her own early, archaic ex–
perience, the meeting ended .
At that point , Gyorgy Hidas thanked everyone for the emo–
tional experience the Hungarians had just gone through . He was
sure now , he asserted, that he and his colleagues were more "feudal"
than they had been aware of. However, he did not seem to realize
that part of the general audience at the New School- people who as
a rule don't get to listen to psychoanalysts' professional discussions ,
or to their doubts , who think of them either as clairvoyant or passe–
was fascinated by the unexpected and invaluable insights into the
psyches of today's most prestigious American Freudians.
