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Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949) has been described as 'the most original figure in American psychiatry'. Challenging Freud's psychosexual theory, Sullivan founded the interpersonal theory of psychiatry, which emphasized the role of interpersonal relations, society and culture as the primary determinants of personality development and psychopathology. This concise and coherent account of Sullivan's work and life invites the modern audience to rediscover the provocative, groundbreaking ideas embodied in Sullivan's interpersonal theory and psychotherapy.
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The Makers of Modern Psychotherapy Series editor: Laurence Spurling This series of introductory, critical texts looks at the work and thought of key contributors to the development of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Each book shows how the theories examined affect clinical practice, and includes biographical material as well as a comprehensive bibliography of the contributor’s work. The field of psychodynamic psychotherapy is today more fertile but also more diverse than ever before. Competing schools have been set up, rival theories and clinical ideas circulate. These different and sometimes competing strains are held together by a canon of fundamental concepts, guiding assumptions and principles of practice. This canon has a history, and the way we now understand and use the ideas that frame our thinking and practice is palpably marked by how they came to use, by the temperament and experiences of their authors, the particular puzzles they wanted to solve and the contexts in which they worked. These are the makers of modern psychotherapy. Yet despite their influence, the work and life of some of these eminent figures is not well know. Others are more familiar, but their particular contribution is open to reassessment. In studying these figures and their work, this series will articulate those ideas and ways of thinking that practitioners and thinkers within the psychodynamic tradition continue to find persuasive. Also in this series: John Bowlby and Attachment Theory Jeremy Holmes Frances Tustin Sheila Spensley Michael Fordham James Astor Heinz Kohut Allen Siegel The Clinical Thinking of Wilfred Bion Joan and Neville Symington Forthcoming titles: R.D. Laing Zbigniew Kotowicz Harry Stack Sullivan Interpersonal theory and psychotherapy F.Barton Evans III London and New York First published 1996 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1996 F. Barton Evans III All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Evans, F.Barton, 1949– Harry Stack Sullivan: interpersonal theory and psychotherapy/F. Barton Evans III. p. cm.—(Makers of modern psychotherapy) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Sullivan, Harry Stack, 1892–1949. 2. Psychoanalysis. 3. Interpersonal relations. I. Title. II. Series. BF109.S8E83 1996 150.19ƍ57ƍ092–dc20 96–16169 CIP ISBN 0-203-97816-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-11972-3 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-11973-1 (pbk) To Margaret Joanne Samuel and Rebecca Contents Part I Preface vii Acknowledgments <