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Elements of the private therapeutic interview

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.144.12.1527

A previous paper explored the differences between a psychiatric interview that is entirely private and one observed by way of a mechanical device. The attempt to explore such differences raises questions about what are the special elements in the private interview that rely heavily on privacy. This paper focuses on 1) the specific rhythms that are worked out within each patient-therapist dyad; 2) the quality of the concentration of one individual on another; 3) the capacity for undoing, or taking back, previously stated positions; and 4) the difference between the intimacy developed through privacy in everyday social situations and that achieved in the therapeutic relationship.

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