During most of the 100 plus years of psychoanalytic history, disclosure of details of an analyst's personal life was frowned upon, chiefly for the reason that it could interfere with the patients' free associations and "contaminate" the transference. This may be true in many instances, but many of us believe that the growing recognition of the intersubjective nature of analytic process allows for a "grist for the mill" attitude toward disclosures such as I am putting forward on this website. I am still in clinical office practice and must retain scrupulous silence about the more intimate details of my life, details that could indeed eventuate in transference problems. Actually, all of my current patients are aware of most of the information I am posting here. An example was my position as a public figure in Los Angeles for many years. If indeed there is a risk to my effectiveness as a clinician in doing this little project, I will strictly adhere to my policy over the years to give the welfare of my patients top priority, and this website will be duly desiccated. I seek no patient referrals at this time of my life, so no one could argue that I am advertising for more business. |