Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)
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Stephen A. Mitchell (July 23, 1946 – December 21, 2000) was a
clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
and
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
. 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 research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.


Biography

Stephen A. Mitchell was born on July 23, 1946, in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
to Stanley Mitchell, an accountant, and Lilian, a legal secretary. Mitchell grew up in Ridgefield and later
Bergenfield, New Jersey Bergenfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321, an increase of 1,557 from the 2010 United States ce ...
. 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 is a psychoanalyst and writer, of both psychoanalytic and fiction books, who lives and works in San Francisco, California. Ogden received a BA from Amherst College, MA, and an MD from Yale, where he also completed a psychiatric resi ...
also studied. Eventually, Mitchell entered
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
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 research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
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 Psychoanalytic institutes and societies in the united states, institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists which also offers general psychotherapy and psychoanalys ...
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 t ...
. 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, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
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 Judith Anne Shulevitz is an American journalist, editor and culture critic. She has been a columnist for ''Slate'', ''The New York Times Book Review'', and ''The New Republic''. She is a contributing writer for ''The Atlantic''. Career Shulevitz ...

"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 overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
, 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 largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
'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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''


External links

* *
Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition
', Stephen A. Mitchell,
Lewis Aron Lewis Aron (December 21, 1952 - February 28, 2019) was an American psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, teacher and lecturer on psychotherapy and psychoanalysis who made contributions particularly within the specialty known as relational psychoanal ...
.
Analytic Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kin ...
, 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