Clara M. Thompson's Professional Evolution and Legacy: An American Psychoanalyst (1933-1958) - Paperback

by Ann D'Ercole (Author)

Beginning in 1933, after Sandor Ferenczi's death, this volume draws extensively from interviews, personal correspondence, and scholarly essays to explore the latter part of Clara Thompson's life and professional career.

The reader is afforded an understanding of Thompson's development with the luminaries who influenced her, and who she, in turn, influenced, including Harry Stack Sullivan, Erich Fromm, and other "cultural" social scientists. Building on her collaborative work with Ferenczi, and influenced by Sullivan, Thompson's pioneering essays expand the psychoanalytic perspective to embrace the dynamic interpersonal encounter between patient and analyst. Critical of Freud's views on women, Thompson also argues against the inequality of women and men in society, reflecting her own moral compass. This volume clarifies Thompson's role in psychoanalytic history, reclaiming her numerous and valuable contributions to both the interpersonal psychoanalytic tradition and to the field of psychoanalysis as we know it today.

D'Ercole's artfully woven account of Thompson's life will prove essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychologists, and anyone interested in the history of psychoanalysis.

Author Biography

Ann D'Ercole is a Clinical Associate professor of Psychology at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, where she is both teaching faculty and supervisor. She is also a distinguished visiting faculty at the William Alanson White Institute and recipient of the APA, Division 39, Sexualities and Gender Identities Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Sexualities and Gender Identities in Psychoanalysis. Dr. D'Ercole is in private practice in New York City.