The Patient as the Center

William G. Herron is a supervisor in the Psychiatric Residency Program at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center and in independent practice in Woodcliff Lake, NJ. He was professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at St. John's University for forty years and director of Clinical Psychology and of School Psychology during his time there. He was also Faculty, Supervisor, Training Analyst, and Clinical Director at the Contemporary Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies and at the New Jersey Institute for Psychoanalytic Training where he was Training Board Chair. He has authored, co-authored, or coedited fourteen books, primarily with a psychodynamic emphasis, as well as numerous articles. His frequent collaborator is Rafael Javier. His most recent book was Understanding Domestic Violence (2018), and his most recent article was “The Impact of Pluralism” (2019) published in Psychology and Psychological Research International Journal. Rafael Art. Javier is a professor of Psychology and the director of the Post-Graduate Professional Development Programs and the Postdoctoral Certificate Programs in Forensic Psychology at St. John’s University. He was the first, founding director of the Center for Psychological Services and Clinical Studies at St. John's University for almost twenty years. He is also a faculty and supervisor at the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and founding member of the Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLAS). Dr. Javier has presented at national and international conferences on psycholinguistic and psychoanalytic issues in research and treatment and on ethnic and cultural issues in psychoanalytic theories and practice, including on issues of violence and the impact on general cognitive and emotional functioning. He has published extensively on the subject including several coedited books. His current research includes issues of violence and moral development, suicide in adolescents and young adults, and autobiographical memory and bilingualism. His most recent books include Understanding Domestic Violence: Theories, Challenges, Remedies, co-edited with William Herron, and Assessing Trauma in Forensic Context, coedited with Drs. Elizabeth Owen and Jemour Maddux. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, and he is on the editorial board of the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, the Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, and the Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy. He was the 2017-2018 President of the Forensic Division of the New York State Psychological Association and the past vice-president of the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals. He was appointed as Special Advisor to the Executive Board of the New York State Psychological Association and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Mental Health Treatment

The Modern Treatment Area

Current Mental Health Delivery

The Next Step

Integrated Psychotherapy

Chapter 2: The Clinical Value of Psychoanalysis

Distinctions

Psychoanalytic Therapy

Identity Diffusion/Confusion

The Personalized Approach

Doing What Works

Symptom Relief

Customized Treatment

Chapter 3: Pluralism: Pathways to Integration

Pluralism in Psychoanalysis

Integration

Drive Reconsidered

Another Step Away

Distinctions from Traditional Psychoanalysis

Diagnosis

Overall Approach

The Relational Turn

Next Step

Chapter 4: Session Notes and Comments

Case #1: Slow Motion

Case #2: If Only

Case #3: The Other Reality

Case #4: More Delusions

Case #5: Not My Fault

Case #6: I am Addicted

Case #7: No Respect

Case #8: Sort of True

Case# 9: The Dream

When It Does Not Work

Chapter 5: The Crooked Path of Effectiveness

Intersectionality

Integration

Some Considerations

Psychoanalytic Training

Disruptions

Further Comments

Integrative Specifics

Etiology

The Non-Analytic Patient

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 6: Psychotherapy Research Outcomes: Possibilities and Limitations

On Determining Core Ingredients for Therapeutic Change

On the Role of Common Factors

A Shifting of Responsibility for Change

Where Are We in Our Scientific Enterprise?

What Are We Left With?

Uniqueness of Psychoanalytic-Focused Interventions

Crisis in the Academy

Concluding Thoughts: In Search of Intellectual Humility

Chapter 7: Language and Its Vicissitude in Bilingual Treatments

A Case of Intersectional Trauma: A Search for Meaning

The Case Synopsis of Ms. G

Multigenerational Trauma

Vicissitudes of a Traumatic Life

I Have Feelings Too: Navigating Her Emotions in Two Languages

In Search of Her Father

On Relying on a Second Language to Forge a New Identity

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 8: On the Neuroscientific Basis of Intersectional-Colored Trauma and Its Sequalae

Trauma and Its Neurological and Psychic Representation

On the Vicissitude of Self-Development in Traumatic Contexts

On the Intimate Interplay Between a Victim and a Perpetuator

Critical Moments and Trauma Development

The Anatomy of Our Affective State

Clinical Implications

Where Can We Go from Here?

Conclusion

Chapter 9: On Inherent Psychological Factors in Some Criminal Behaviors

Is There a Reasonable Explanation for Criminal Behaviors?

A Psychological Explanatory Model of Criminal Behavior

A View of Criminality in Psychoanalytic Contexts

The Role of Trauma in Criminal Behaviors

Concluding Thoughts

Chapter 10: Summary and Conclusions

References

Index

About the Authors