Making a story out of a crisis-A response to COVID-19: A dramatic perspective

This chapter shares the author's personal experiences during the early part of the lockdown in the UK in the spring of 2020, with all the uncertainties it created, and considers it from a dramatic storied perspective. It presents the author's perspective of creating a story out of COVID-19. Over the coming weeks in the spring of 2020, as the virus spread in lightning dramatic form, was a series of intertwined stories neither the author nor anyone else had fully processed. They were being encouraged to work from home. As we moved into March the government suggested that we should not have mass meetings, not go to pubs, sporting events or concerts. The notion of working from home and social distancing were being considered. We were all inadvertently being drawn into a classic dramatic story of life and death, without having the distance or space to respond fully to the emotions created. From a dramatherapy perspective, one could argue this is Jung's 'Collective Unconscious' at its most literal and dramatic-an unseen virus spreading throughout the very DNA of all humankind, that was completely unknown to us till a few months earlier, had no antidote and could be deadly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

A study of spontaneous narrative formation: coronavirus and narratives of doom

Is the frequently heard and seemingly innocent statement that the coronavirus was 'sent by Mother Nature to teach us a lesson,' evidence of an unconscious narrative that is driven by the fear and grief engendered by the pandemic? The idiom 'teach us a lesson' suggests that Mother Earth is angry with us and further, that the archetype of divine punishment – apocalypse – has been activated in the collective unconscious. This may be a dangerous time for the world psyche because an archetype, as objective pattern as well as a 'dynamic living agency,' can influence our emotions and behaviors. History has shown the devastation a powerfully activated negative archetype can engender. Can analytical psychology contribute to easing psychological suffering caused by the irrational fear of the end of the world? We suggest C.G Jung's 'transcendent function' can be invoked to spontaneously produce a new unifying, and therefore healing symbol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Comparing Bion's Container-Contained Relationship with Aspects of Containment in the Collective Unconscious

The psychodynamic therapist is both aware of and open to phenomena arising in their relationship with the patient. This paper compares two different phenomena and expands on how processing these phenomena aids the therapeutic pair: Bion's container-contained relationship and Jung's concept of the collective unconscious, which could be thought of as containing the therapeutic relationship. The two concepts will be described and elucidated using a clinical example of a therapist's dream from the collective unconscious following sudden termination in therapy. This supports a synthesis of the two concepts in a developmental context and within the wider scholarship of both thinkers. Finally, their relationships to embodied processes will be explored. Copyright © 2022 BPF and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dreams and COVID-19.

This work originates from reflections on the observation of recurring themes in dreams of patients in psychoanalytic treatment during the most restrictive lockdown period in Italy (March - May 2020). The authors focus on the peculiar dialogic state between consciousness and the unconscious that arose following a collective event such as that of the pandemic, which determined the activation of complex personal nuclei, compensatory effects of the unconscious psyche and new perspective functions. These latter aspects are interpreted with reference to the contributions of Erich Neumann, bringing a new psychological vision of the relationship between Man and Nature in relation to catastrophic events.

Ce travail a pour point de départ nos réflexions sur l'observation de thèmes récurrents dans les rêves de patients en traitement psychanalytique durant la période de confinement le plus strict en Italie (de mars à mai 2020). Les auteurs se concentrent sur l'état dialogique singulier entre la conscience et l'inconscient, qui survient à la suite d'un événement collectif tel la pandémie, et qui détermine l'activation de noyaux personnels complexes, les effets compensatoires de la psyché inconsciente et les fonctions de nouvelle perspective. Ces derniers aspects sont interprétés en référence aux apports d'Erich Neumann, amenant une nouvelle vision psychologique de la relation entre l'Homme et la Nature en lien avec des événements catastrophiques.

El presente trabajo se origina a partir de reflexiones basadas en la observación de temas recurrentes en sueños de pacientes en tratamiento psicoanalítico durante el período de cuarentena de mayor restricción en Italia (Marzo-Mayo 2020). Los autores focalizan en el estado dialógico peculiar entre la consciencia y el inconsciente que emergió a partir de un evento colectivo como el de la pandemia, el cual determinó la activación de núcleos de complejos personales, efectos compensatorios de la psique inconsciente y nuevas funciones. Estos últimos aspectos son interpretados con referencia a las contribuciones de Erich Neumann, ofreciendo una nueva visión psicológica de la relación entre el Hombre y la Naturaleza con relación a los eventos catastróficos.