Here-and-Now Defensiveness and Interactive Regulation: A Relational Perspective on the Psychoanalytic Process

Abstract

Recent advances in psychoanalytic theory emphasize the role of relationships in the psychoanalytic process. These advances are reflected in the notion of defense as an interpersonal process that is coconstructed in the relationship. This study aimed at systematically examining a broad notion of here-and-now defensiveness as it unfolds within the relational context. The sample was 10 fully transcribed sessions from a psychoanalysis. The transcripts were evaluated by 3 raters on several aspects of defensiveness that were conceptualized by taking into account core relational processes: here-and-now defensiveness, self-regulation and interactive regulation in the patient's discourse, and type and relational quality of the analyst's interventions. The results indicated that a definition that emphasizes the defensiveness in the here and now offered a reliable and meaningful understanding. The change in the here-and-now defensiveness over the course of the psychoanalysis was presented and discussed. The interactive regulatory aspect demonstrated a statistically and clinically significant pattern. In addition, unusual qualities of the analyst's interventions were associated with defensiveness.