Introduction

This book presents an integrative perspective on the meaning and clinical applications of the concept of intersubjectivity in psychoanalysis. As my primary objective, I propose a model that takes into account the diverse sources of intersubjectivity, including contributions from philosophy, neuroscience, and infant research. Psychoanalysts have interpreted the concept of intersubjectivity in several ways, and I offer a critical review of their major approaches. Throughout, I emphasize the field of semiotics, which provides a common foundation for different models of psychoanalytic practice, all of which involve the exchange of signs between subjects. The speaking relationship holds the central place in psychoanalysis, but is often overlooked in ongoing debates over the correct theoretical approach or regarded simply as an instrument of clinical process. Subjectivity depends on speech, taking shape within specific contexts and inter actions that are structured within a social framework of roles and symbols, not reducible to biological or intrapsychic mechanisms. I use case examples to illustrate intersubjectivity in clinical relationships.