A book by Robert T. Waska.

First impressions

So far I'm finding the book both illuminating and a little frustrating.

I think I'm starting to understand what projective identification is, and Waska's examples from his clinical practice are somewhat helpful. But these examples often feel pat to me. Maybe this is because he provides only a small amount of context before providing an interpretation, and the interpretation of course always seems apt and helpful to the patient. This has to be unfair to him, of course, because the examples wouldn't be there unless he thought they were good examples. Even so, the speed with which he goes from a patient's description of their plight to his "I interpreted ..." always feels stark.

Also--and this could be my own projection!--the case studies feel to me more than a little self-congratulatory, almost as if he were calling attention to his own skills as a therapist (by way of his interpretations). This makes me feel distrustful of those interpretations, and of him as a therapist.