Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)
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Stephen A. Mitchell (July 23, 1946 – December 21, 2000) was an American
clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...
and
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
. His book with Jay Greenberg, ''Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory'' (1983), became a classic textbook in graduate schools and post-graduate institutions, providing a general overview and comparison of several psychoanalytic theories. He was considered a leader of
relational psychoanalysis Relational psychoanalysis is a school of psychoanalysis in the United States that emphasizes the role of real and imagined relationships with others in mental disorder and psychotherapy. 'Relational psychoanalysis is a relatively new and evolving ...
. Mitchell helped to create the Relational Track of the
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.


Biography

Stephen A. Mitchell was born on July 23, 1946, in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
to Stanley Mitchell, an accountant, and Lilian, a legal secretary. Mitchell grew up in Ridgefield and later
Bergenfield, New Jersey Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321, an increase of 1,557 (+5.8%) from the 2010 census count of 26,764, which in turn reflected ...
. His brother, Richard, was born when Stephen was five. The family was "Jewish, secular, and very involved in political and intellectual issues". Mitchell would excel at school and later go to Horace Mann High School in New York City, where his peer and future friend
Thomas Ogden Thomas Ogden (born December 4, 1946) is an American psychoanalyst and writer, of both psychoanalytic and fiction books, who lives and works in San Francisco, California. Biography Ogden received a BA from Amherst College, MA, and an MD from Yal ...
also studied. Eventually, Mitchell entered
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
and majored in an interdisciplinary honours program, "History: the Arts and Letters". He graduated summa cum laude, and subsequently trained as a clinical psychologist at the
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
doctoral program. He was trained as an analyst at the
William Alanson White Institute The William Alanson White Institute (WAWI), founded in 1943, is an institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists that also offers general psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is located in the Clara Thompson building of the Upper We ...
from 1972 to 1977. His training analyst was Miltiades Zaphiropoulos. After a first brief marriage, Mitchell married Margaret Black in 1976, who had been his internship colleague at the
New York State Psychiatric Institute The New York State Psychiatric Institute, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was established in 1895 as one of the first institutions in the United States ...
. Together, they raised two daughters, Caitlin (b. 1983) and Samantha (b. 1986). Mitchell died of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
at his home in Manhattan on December 21, 2000. His final book, published posthumously and entitled ''Can Love Last?'', was an application of relational theory to love relationships. Shulevitz, Judith
"Danger: Romantic Love."
''New York Times'' 10 Feb 2002.


Work


Ideas

''Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory'' distinguished between psychoanalytic theories that emphasize biological drives such as sexuality and
aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...
, on the one hand, and theories that emphasize human relationships, on the other. The former were referred to as ''drive/conflict theories'', and the latter were termed ''relational/conflict theories''. Mitchell and Greenberg argued that drive theories and relational theories are conceptually incompatible, and psychoanalysis must therefore choose between them. After their book, the ideas of Mitchell and Greenberg diverged. While Greenberg would go on to espouse the concept of the drive, Mitchell instead chose to develop a theory of relationality through engagements with Fairbairn, Loewald, and Bowlby. Mitchell recognized the importance of Greenberg's work, while keeping a critical distance to the latter.


Institution

Mitchell also established the international psychoanalytic journal, ''Psychoanalytic Dialogues'' in 1990 and served as one of its editors for the journal's first ten years from 1990 to 2000. After the publication of his first book, with Greenberg, he was in great demand, and taught his ideas across the United States, Europe, and Israel. In addition to his scholarly contributions, Mitchell was also involved in political and institutional questions relating to psychoanalytic training and formation. He was instrumental in developing a number of psychoanalytic organizations, including the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
's Division of Psychoanalysis, the Relational Track of th
New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
and a variety of other groups.


Bibliography

* ''Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory'' (1983), with Jay Greenberg * ''Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis: An Integration'' (1988) * ''Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis'' (1993) * ''Freud and Beyond: A History of psychoanalytic thought'' (1996), with Margaret Black * ''Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis'' (1997) * ''Relationality: From Attachment to Intersubjectivity'' (2000) * ''Can Love Last? The Fate of Romance over Time'' (2001)


Notes


References


Obituary of Stephen Mitchell
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''


External links

* *
Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition
', Stephen A. Mitchell, Lewis Aron. Analytic Press, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Stephen American psychoanalysts 20th-century American psychologists Jewish psychoanalysts American psychology writers 2000 deaths Relational psychoanalysts 1946 births Scientists from New York City New York State Psychiatric Institute people