Marco Conci's view of psychoanalysis is truly dialogical and embedded in real life. The interpersonal encounter is the catalyst and yeast of this collection of scholarly written essays and fresh interviews, which provide a detailed map of the enlargement of the horizons and differentiation of perspectives experienced by psychoanalysis in the last decades.
A necessary tool for the academic historian of this discipline, this lively book is also a travel companion for the clinician who feels the urge to adapt his views to the patient, instead of forcing them on to the patient. It shows how the principle of elasticity, introduced by Ferenczi in the analytic encounter, can successfully be applied to our need to organize psychoanalytic wisdom.
Carlo Bonomi, President of the International Sándor Ferenczi Network
This unique anthology of papers by Marco Conci convincingly shows how much candidates could profit from coming in touch with a variety of authors and analytic traditions.
Franco Borgogno, University of Turin, Italian Psychoanalytic Society, and Recipient of the Sigourney Award
Marco Conci has a double gift. On the one hand, he explains to us the most important points of view and the major preoccupations of Freud, Sullivan, Mitchell, and Bion, from the perspective of the historian and on the basis of a personal selection of a whole series of sources. On the other hand, his analytic competence allows him to show us the roots, the contradictions and the value of the various analytic concepts and hypothesis he deals with. His ambition and his capacity to connect and let these two perspectives interact with each other is convincing and makes his book into an important document.
Michael Ermann, German Psychoanalytic Society
Marco Conci, more than anyone else, is responsible for introducing both interpersonal and relational psychoanalysis to the European continent. Just as he did in his ground-breaking biography of Harry Stack Sullivan, here he focuses on Stephen Mitchell's contributions and how these are closely linked with Sullivan's revolutionary theorizing. Dr. Conci illustrates in great detail, partly stemming from a close personal relationship with Mitchell, how relational psychoanalysis evolved and what are its essential features. How Dr. Conci's scholarly interests and curiosities have directly led to a profound expansion of psychoanalytic theorizing in Europe is a must-read for anyone with any interest in psychoanalytic scholarship.
Irwin Hirsch, New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, William Alanson White Institute
A fascinating and masterfully written account of the history of psychoanalysis--full of exciting encounters and vibrant ideas, throbbing with life. The power and glamour of Marco Conci's book spring from his deep insight into the profoundly "dialogical nature" and the international character of psychoanalysis. Bridging the divides between various schools, Conci skillfully navigates us through the history of psychoanalysis and will largely help historians of psychoanalysis and everyone interested in psychoanalysis to understand the "multiple voices" of psychoanalysis in the past, present, and in the future. This is psychoanalytic historiography at its best.
Galina Hristeva, Recipient of the 2011 IPA-Sacerdoti Prize
