WHEN IS TRUTH RELEVANT?
The authors argue that the experience of knowing and having the truth about oneself known in the context of therapy is not an end in itself; rather, it is important because the trust engendered by this experience (epistemic trust or trust in new knowledge) opens one up to learning about one's social world and finding better ways to live in it. The authors consider the consequences of a lack of epistemic trust in terms of psychopathology.
Director of the Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London.
Elizabeth
E
Allison
Head of the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London and Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre, London.
Peter
P
Fonagy
D006801:Humans; D011572:Psychoanalysis; D000067570:Social Learning; D056345:Theory of Mind; D035502:Trust
Truth; analytic relationship; borderline personality disorder; culture; early relationships with caregivers; emotion; epistemology; learning; mentalization; representation; skepticism; therapeutic action; trust