Antioch University AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses Dissertations & Theses 2014 The elS f of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern Daniel Masler Antioch University - Seattle Follow this and additional works at: http://aura.antioch.edu/etds Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons, Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Masler, Daniel, "The eS lf of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern" (2014). Dissertations & Theses. 178. http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/178 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses at AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Antioch University Seattle By Daniel Masler June 2014 The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern This dissertation, by Daniel Masler, has been approved by the Committee Members signed below who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of the Antioch University Seattle, at Seattle, WA in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY Dissertation Committee: ________________________ Philip Cushman, Ph.D. Chairperson ________________________ Mary Wieneke, Ph.D. ________________________ William J. Coburn, Ph.D. ________________________ June 9, 2014 ii © Copyright by Daniel Masler, 2014 All Rights Reserved iii Abstract The Self of the Field and the Work of Donnel Stern Daniel Masler Antioch University Seattle Seattle, WA No study has taken an updated and comprehensive review of Donnel Stern’s writings. An investigation of his philosophical assumptions, locating Stern’s work socioculturally and historically, along with an elucidation of Stern’s background in traditional psychoanalytic literature and clinical practice, brings out the meanings and enigmas present in his theories of dissociation, enactment, unformulated experience, multiple self-states, and reflection. Stern has offered one of the best-integrated theoretical models in relational psychoanalytic theory. An examination of his theories within the theoretical traditions to which he makes claim (psychoanalytic, interpersonal, hermeneutic, postmodern, and democratic) will help elucidate the challenge posed by relational psychoanalysis to the Cartesian split and scientism in psychological study and praxis, while also attending to important clinical implications of Stern’s model. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd Key words: relational psychoanalysis, Donnel Stern, technique, trauma, self, dissociation, enactment, multiple self-states, multiplicity, unformulated experience, iv interpretive turn, hermeneutics, postmodernism, interpersonal psychotherapy, unbidden experience. v Dedication The story goes that there was once a Greek King Milinda who reigned in Bactria, what is presently Northern Afghanistan. One of Alexander the Great’s men, Milinda was well-trained in Aristotelian philosophy (Davids, 1890/1963). One day, the king consulted the Buddhist teacher Nagasena, asking how long the latter had been a monk. Nagesena replied, “I was ordained seven years ago.” “So” argued the Bactrian King, “you are a monk, aren't you? Does that mean you are you a monk for seven years, or is the monk you?” Nagasena gazed on King Milinda’s shadow cast on the ground and across the surface of a basin of water. Nagesena asked, “Is that shadow separate from the King or is it the King himself?” King Milinda responded that it was neither. The shadow was owing to himself. “Likewise” replied Nagasena, “these seven years of monkhood are on account of me but they are not me.” Likewise in the case of this dissertation, for me any achievements during these past seven years may be on account of a number my own activities. However, what I have done since beginning doctoral study and then this writing are in fact nothing if not relational, part of a world of which I, too, have been part—but one that is also beyond me. It is a world that has constantly surprised me. There are, therefore, a number of people who have been essential for this work to appear. I would like to give my deepest thanks for their unanticipated support. The great generosity I have experienced during this period of my life has been a strong vi confirmation of the point of so much of this study, the point that we are indeed created and re-created especially in caring relationships. In particular, I would like to express my profound appreciation and gratitude to the following: To the huge stamina of Deb Sand, for her skills as a librarian, an editor, and a person endlessly inquisitive and open-minded. And to Florin Teodorescu. The two of them have consistently been ready to pitch in when needed, and for as long as needed, even when a new citation software program could not be coded in a single day, and always with refuge available at any elevation. To Jonathan Weinstein and Tamara Bailey, who have been there with humor, interest, and always a friendly and rowdy table. And to Ruth and Dave Rosner, whose discussions of this work and what it means to our lives, our experiences, and our histories have been invaluable. To my daughters, Kaya and Nora Masler, who managed to thrive throughout, to laugh, and to share the intellectual struggle, the psychological conversations, the challenges, the philosophical conundrums, even the characterological (that means comical) critiques whenever needed. To Fernando Vega, who welcomed me into the healthcare profession as soon as I told him I was applying to it. To William Coburn who did not hesitate to join onto this project practically the day we met, who has been a warm and positive presence throughout, and whose laconic words and questions stay with me. And to Mary Wieneke, for her understanding patience and gentle thoroughness, brining warm encouragement even when things were tough. To vii Alejandra Suarez who has helped me realize a relational goal of a practice that is multilingual and multicultural. To Tien Liang who has always been ready and available, to have tea, to talk, to challenge, and to find new perspectives together. To Andy Benjamin, who has been there with ready discussion, bringing a compassionate rigor, always well-spiced with irony, into the hardest points of psychotherapeutic work. To Piyale Comert, who brought me and brought me back to a grounding of wisdom, curiosity, courage, and always to the humility of listening, so important in this thought which is nothing if not a matter of reflection, feeling, and experience. And of course to Phil Cushman. Phil constantly, tirelessly demonstrated the kind of critical but always interested and caring thought that is at the heart of relational psychoanalysis and hermeneutics—Phil, who regularly amazed me with his ability to show how hermeneutic practice and ideas are truly embodied in reflective action, bringing the potential of finding a fresh bit of inspiration at any time, usually when least expected, and when not in a conversation full of my interruptions then one intervened by laughter. viii Table of Contents Dedication...........................................................................................................................vi I. Background.......................................................................................................................8 II. Literature Review..........................................................................................................16 III. Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................35 IV. Description of the Study..............................................................................................36 IV. Methods.......................................................................................................................37 V. General Research Questions.........................................................................................41 VI. Topics of Investigation: Enigmas................................................................................43 Enigma 1: Health...................................................................................................44 Enigma 2: The Locations of Things—The Shifty Nature of Self..........................47 Enigma 3: The Stormy Relationship Between Psychotherapy and Moral Understandings............................................................50 VII. Findings-Discussion ..................................................................................................51 Chapter 1: The Health Enigma..............................................................................51 Foucault and the Discipline of Health.......................................................56 Introduction: The Panopticon and the Invisible Observer.........................56 The Clinical Gaze......................................................................................64 Mutual Enactments Through Anxiety and the Ritual of Healthcare........120 Chapter 2: Donnel Stern’s Unmapped Self..........................................................135 Approach..................................................................................................135