Title of the research: Philosophy, Pragmatism and Transactional Disorders: from Harry Stack Sullivan to an Alternative Viewpoint on Psychiatry
Abstract of the research (English version): Harry Stack Sullivan is often an overlooked figure in the vast landscape of 20th-century psychiatry; yet his contribution was both groundbreaking and innovative, as he sought to place interpersonal interaction at the center of understanding mental health. His contribution to psychiatry stands out for its bold departure from some of the fundamental assumptions of classical psychoanalysis, a discipline toward which Sullivan never sought to conceal his profound intellectual debt. He began his career by rigorously adhering to its tenets but soon discovered, in practice, that many of the therapeutic strategies conceived by psychoanalysis proved inadequate for the treatment of certain patients. Therefore, it is possible to observe, by tracing the internal evolution of Sullivan’s thought and following the thread of its theoretical development, how the assimilation of psychoanalytic teachings became progressively less sterile and more open to change: that change which would open the psychoanalytic method to the treatment, not of the subject of mental disorder, but of the individual within its relational context.
Sullivan gradually developed a highly innovative perspective that fostered a dynamic and socio-environmental understanding of psychopathology, aimed at shedding light on the dysfunctionality of certain interpersonal transactions. His focus on the relational dimension strongly emerged from his clinical experience. In this context, he consolidated his clinical-therapeutic approach, based on direct observation of patients’ behavior and interaction within real situational contexts, where the physician actively participates in the therapeutic process.
This work aims to restore the centrality of Harry Stack Sullivan’s figure, highlighting the groundbreaking nature of his psychiatric thought as well as his philosophical significance, starting from his contribution to a broader dialogue with other fields of knowledge. This openness to intellectual hybridization demonstrated the aspiration to understand human beings in the complexity of their interactions and the historical-cultural juncture in which they live.
