astronomy

Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)

Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) rather than just read about it. In short: Stephen A. Mitchell (July 23, 1946 – December 21, 2000) was an American clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

Key takeaways

Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stephen A. Mitchell (July 23, 1946 – December 21, 2000) was an American clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. 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. Mitchell helped to create the Relational Track of the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.

Biography Stephen A. Mitchell was born on July 23, 1946, in Manhattan to Stanley Mitchell, an accountant, and Lilian, a legal secretary. Mitchell grew up in Ridgefield and later Bergenfield, New Jersey. 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 also studied. Eventually, Mitchell entered Yale University 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 doctoral program. He was trained as an analyst at the William Alanson White Institute 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. Together, they raised two daughters, Caitlin (b. 1983) and Samantha (b. 1986). Mitchell died of heart failure 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.

Work

Ideas Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory distinguished between psychoanalytic theories that emphasize biological drives such as sexuality and aggression, 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.

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's Division of Psychoanalysis, the Relational Track of the 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

External links Quotations related to Stephen A. Mitchell at Wikiquote Relational Psychoanalysis: The Emergence of a Tradition, Stephen A. Mitchell, Lewis Aron. Analytic Press, 1999. ISBN 0881632708

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)

In research: Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1946 births, 2000 deaths, 20th-century American psychologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) in simple terms?

Stephen A. Mitchell (July 23, 1946 – December 21, 2000) was an American clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

Why does Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stephen A. Mitchell (psychologist).