ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite the demonstrated efficacy of psychotherapy, the precise mechanisms that drive therapeutic transformations have posed a challenge and still remain unresolved. Here, we suggest a potential solution to this problem by introducing a framework based on the concept of mental navigation. It refers to our ability to navigate our cognitive space of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and memories, similar to how we navigate physical space. We start by analyzing the neural, cognitive, and experiential constituents intrinsic to mental navigation. Subsequently, we posit that the metaphoric spatial language we employ to articulate introspective experiences (e.g., "unexplored territory" or "going in circles") serves as a robust marker of mental navigation. METHODS: Using large text corpora, we compared the utilization of spatial language between transcripts of psychotherapy sessions (≈ 12 M. words), casual everyday conversations (≈ 12 M. words), and fictional dialogues in movies (≈ 14 M. words). We also examined 110 psychotherapy transcripts qualitatively to discern patterns and dynamics associated with mental navigation. RESULTS: We found a notable increase in the utilization of spatial metaphors during psychotherapy compared to casual everyday dialogues (U = 192.0, p = .001, d = 0.549) and fictional conversations (U = 211, p < .001, d = 0.792). In turn, analyzing the usage of non-spatial metaphors, we did not find significant differences between the three datasets (H = 0.682, p = 0.710). The qualitative analysis highlighted specific examples of mental navigation at play. CONCLUSION: Mental navigation might underlie the psychotherapy process and serve as a robust framework for understanding the transformative changes it brings about.
Subject(s)
Language , Psychotherapy , Humans , Communication , Metaphor , Psychotherapeutic ProcessesABSTRACT
Months following the traumatic termination of my analysis I engaged in self-analytic work in which I was able to rework the events of the termination and their significance in terms of my history. Fundamental differences between my self-analytic process and that of my formal analysis led me to consider how termination may affect the ensuing self-analytic process. In this paper, I look at aspects of termination that have to do with the dissolution of symbiotic ties with the analyst; I will try to show that relinquishment of the frame provides an impetus both for consolidation and reworking of an identification with the analyst, which may enable the analysand to develop a personal way of thinking about the unconscious that differs from that of the analyst. I further suggest that there are inevitable limitations to the analytic process which manifest in the development of irreducible bastions, and that the dissolution of the frame at termination provides an opportunity for self-analytic resolution of those bastions which may allow self-understanding beyond what could have been attained within the formal analytic setting. Finally, I offer some speculations on how these processes may have played out between Freud and Fliess in Freud's self-analysis.
Subject(s)
Psychoanalysis , Psychoanalytic Therapy , Humans , Transference, PsychologyABSTRACT
The author suggests that dreams are an expressive means through which the psychic apparatus delineates, construes and communicates an issue it is faced with. It is shown that there are substantial differences between this approach and more classical understandings of the nature and function of dreaming. Instead of laying emphasis on dream work as a defence system or as outlets of unconscious drives, the author highlights two further aspects of dreaming: (1) that in and through dreaming the psychic apparatus has developed a specific capacity to identify and express questions, problems and emotional experiences with which it is confronted, in a complex spiral and vertiginous way, as described in the paper; (2) that dreams encapsulate kernels of experience into "engrams" by constantly searching for ways of addressing and readdressing emotional experience.
Subject(s)
Dreams , Emotions , HumansABSTRACT
In spite of the fact that Freud's self-analysis was at the centre of so many of his discoveries, self-analysis remains a complex, controversial and elusive exercise. While self-analysis is often seen as emerging at the end of an analysis and then used as a criteria in assessing the suitability for termination, I try to attend to the patient's resistance to self-analysis throughout an analysis. I take the view that the development of the patient's capacity for self-analysis within the analytic session contributes to the patient's growth and their creative and independent thinking during the analysis, which prepares him or her for a fuller life after the formal analysis ends. The model I will present is based on an over lapping of the patient's and the analyst's self-analysis, with recognition and use of the analyst's counter-transference. My focus is on the analyst's self-analysis that is in response to a particular crisis of not knowing, which results in feeling intellectually and emotionally stuck. This paper is not a case study, but a brief look at the process I went through to arrive at a particular interpretation with a particular patient during a particular session. I will concentrate on resistances in which both patient and analyst initially rely upon what is consciously known.
Subject(s)
Professional-Patient Relations , Psychoanalytic Therapy/methods , Self-Assessment , Transference, Psychology , Countertransference , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
O autor argumenta que o trabalho clínico psicanalítico é resultante da estruturação de um objeto psicanalítico reparador. Este objeto nada mais é do que a construção de uma metapsicologia pessoal, que é desenvolvida ao longo de todo o processo interminável de formação do psicanalista. Com base nessa metapsicologia pessoal, o psicanalista adquire a possibilidade de trabalhar no interior do círculo hermenêutico psicanalítico. O autor mostra a importância de uma análise para a construção desse objeto psicanalítico e o lugar que a escrita tem na consolidação do círculo hermenêutico psicanalítico. Suas observações são acompanhadas pela música "Oriente", de Gilberto Gil
The author argues that clinical-psychoanalytic work arises from structuring the restorative object (i.e., a psychoanalytic object that "repairs"). This object is nothing else besides the construction of a personal metapsychology, which is developed throughout the endless process of psychoanalytic training. This personal metapsychology enables the psychoanalyst to start working within the hermeneutic circle of psychoanalysis. The author shows the importance of analysis in order to construct this psychoanalytic object. He also emphasizes the role of psychoanalytic writing in strengthening the hermeneutic circle of Psychoanalysis. The author's observations come with the song "Oriente", composed by Gilberto Gil
El autor sostiene que el trabajo clínico psicoanalítico resulta de la estructuración de un objeto psicoanalítico reparador. Este objeto es la construcción de una metapsicología personal que se desarrolla a lo largo de todo el proceso interminable de formación psicoanalítica. A partir de esta metapsicología personal, el psicoanalista adquiere la posibilidad de trabajar dentro del círculo hermenéutico psicoanalítico. Sus observaciones son acompañadas por la música "Oriente" de Gilberto Gil
L'auteur soutient que le travail clinique psychanalytique provient de la structuration d'un objet psychanalytique réparateur. Cet objet n'est rien de plus que la construction d'une métapsychologie personnelle développée tout au long du processus interminable de formation du psychanalyste. A partir de cette métapsychologie personnelle, le psychanalyste a la possibilité de travailler au sein du cercle herméneutique psychanalytique. L'auteur démontre l'importance d'une analyse pour la construction de cet objet psychanalytique et la place de l'écriture dans la consolidation du cercle herméneutique psychanalytique. Ses observations s'accompagnent de la musique "Oriente", de Gilberto Gil
Subject(s)
Psychoanalysis , Autoanalysis , HermeneuticsABSTRACT
W. R. D. Fairbairn believed that the psychoanalyst's motivations and theories must ultimately be rooted in a need to resolve personal conflicts. His self-analytic and other records, now publicly available, indicate how his struggles with unacceptable sexual feelings and their symptomatic manifestations affected not only his theorizing, especially about sexuality, but also his clinical practice, as well as his personal and family life. Fairbairn's case affords a unique opportunity to document the effects of homophobia in a major psychoanalyst.
Subject(s)
Homosexuality, Male/psychology , Prejudice/psychology , Psychoanalysis/history , Psychoanalytic Theory , History, 20th Century , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Durante seu período de autoanálise, normalmente situado pelos estudiosos de sua obra entre os anos de 1897 e 1900, Freud descobriu, através da investigação de seus próprios sonhos e de suas lembranças infantis, os traços fundamentais de nosso inconsciente. Nesse artigo, nos propomos a desdobrar, através dos textos desse período, o processo e o contexto de descoberta que o levou a propor, dentre outros, o esquecimento, a fantasia e a sexualidade infantil como elementos estruturantes para o funcionamento do aparelho psíquico. (AU)
During his self-analysis period, usually located by the researchers of his work between the years 1897 and 1900, Freud discovered through the research of his own dreams and his childhood memories the fundamental features of our unconscious. In this article, we propose to investigate, through the texts of this period, the process and the context of discovery that led Freud to propose forgetting, fantasies and child sexuality as structural elements for the functioning of the psychic apparatus. (AU)
Durante su período de autoanálisis, que normalmente los estudiosos de su obra ubican entre los años 1897 y 1900, Freud descubrió las características fundamentales de nuestro inconsciente a través de la investigación de sus propios sueños y recuerdos de la infancia. En este artículo, proponemos a desarrollar, a través de los textos de la época, el proceso y el contexto de descubrimiento que le llevó a proponer, entre otros, el olvido, las fantasías y la sexualidad infantil como elementos estructurales para el funcionamiento del aparato psíquico. (AU)
Subject(s)
Autoanalysis/psychology , Fantasy , Sexuality/psychology , Psychoanalytic TheoryABSTRACT
Durante seu período de autoanálise, normalmente situado pelos estudiosos de sua obra entre os anos de 1897 e 1900, Freud descobriu, através da investigação de seus próprios sonhos e de suas lembranças infantis, os traços fundamentais de nosso inconsciente. Nesse artigo, nos propomos a desdobrar, através dos textos desse período, o processo e o contexto de descoberta que o levou a propor, dentre outros, o esquecimento, a fantasia e a sexualidade infantil como elementos estruturantes para o funcionamento do aparelho psíquico...
During his self-analysis period, usually located by the researchers of his work between the years 1897 and 1900, Freud discovered through the research of his own dreams and his childhood memories the fundamental features of our unconscious. In this article, we propose to investigate, through the texts of this period, the process and the context of discovery that led Freud to propose forgetting, fantasies and child sexuality as structural elements for the functioning of the psychic apparatus...
Durante su período de autoanálisis, que normalmente los estudiosos de su obra ubican entre los años 1897 y 1900, Freud descubrió las características fundamentales de nuestro inconsciente a través de la investigación de sus propios sueños y recuerdos de la infancia. En este artículo, proponemos a desarrollar, a través de los textos de la época, el proceso y el contexto de descubrimiento que le llevó a proponer, entre otros, el olvido, las fantasías y la sexualidad infantil como elementos estructurales para el funcionamiento del aparato psíquico...
Subject(s)
Humans , Autoanalysis/psychology , Fantasy , Psychoanalytic Theory , Sexuality/psychologyABSTRACT
In 1899, Freud introduced the concept of screen memories. His insights were revolutionary: screen memories do not emerge into consciousness at the time of recall, he argued; they are formed at that time and, moreover, historical accuracy is not their prime concern. In this article, the author reviews two of Freud's screen memories, as well as two screen memories from a completed analysis of one of his own patients. He argues that, if screen memories are formed, a concept such as screen work must be invoked as the agent of their formation. While screen memories may theoretically be formed at any stage of life, adolescence may be a prime time for their formation.
Subject(s)
Freudian Theory , Memory , Psychoanalytic Therapy/methods , Repression, Psychology , Adult , Freudian Theory/history , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
El artículo, derivado de una investigación, propone sentidos de formación que permitan a las instituciones educativas construir espacios donde los sujetos logrendesplegar su conciencia a partir de examinar parámetros que configuren su relación con la realidad, para lo cual es necesario el encuentro con el otro.
This article, derived from a piece of research, proposes senses of training, which enable educational institutions to build spaces where subjects manage to deploy their awareness, based on the analysis of parameters, which configure their relationships with reality being necessary the encounter with the other.
Subject(s)
Humans , Mentoring/ethics , Mentoring , Mentoring/analysis , Mentoring/economics , Mentoring/history , Mentoring/methods , Mentoring/policiesABSTRACT
The development of more nuanced understandings of psychoanalytic process is among the primary tasks of contemporary psychoanalytic theorizing. One piece of this complex undertaking involves the examination of moments when the analyst's countertransference position changes. Shifts in the analyst's feelings and thoughts in relation to the patient are complex events in which experiences registered at many levels of organization and via many modes of perception combine to contribute to meaning-making and furthering of the treatment process. The author explores the role of fantasy in giving form and meaning to alterations experienced as a change of attitude or affect, through close examination of one such moment of shift.
Subject(s)
Countertransference , Fantasy , Psychoanalytic Therapy , Empathy , Humans , Professional-Patient RelationsABSTRACT
The value and function of self-analysis has been a contentious issue in several studies dedicated to the Freudian legacy. For some writers, Freud's experience of self-analysis is rightly considered to be the master key to an understanding of the origins of the fundamentals of psychoanalysis. For others, the exaggerated importance attributed to the process merely led to the construction of a foundational myth. Nevertheless, if it is recognized to be a process in which Freud, in collaboration with Fliess, analysed personal aspects, working hypotheses and psychopathological debates, a reconsideration of self-analysis may contribute new elements to our understanding of the paths that were taken in the elaboration of the theory and practice of pyschoanalysis. Starting from this premise, the present work will consider the systematic examination that Freud conducted of his own phobia in the course of his self-analysis to be a process of great relevance to the elaboration of the early psychoanlytic conceptualizations of anxiety, in that in the course of this process the possible role of sexuality, fantasy, memory and unconscious determinism in the etiology of anxiety became part of the discussion.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/psychology , Fantasy , Freudian Theory/history , Psychoanalytic Therapy , History, 20th Century , HumansABSTRACT
The author argues that the structure of mourning and the structure of the Oedipus complex are triadic, the latter being obvious and easy to conceptualize, while the former is quite subtle. When it is the father who is mourned, the son must repeatedly invoke the dead object so that libidinal cathexis can be reinvested in living objects. Such was the situation in which Freud found himself in 1896 when his father died--the triadic nature of the Oedipus complex ironically not yet discovered by him. In the author's belief, Freud's mourning and his attendant rich dream life occurring between 1896 and 1897 gave him access to the unconscious raw material that would eventually help him conceptualize the triadic structure at the instinctual core of the Oedipus complex.
Subject(s)
Dreams/psychology , Freudian Theory/history , Grief , Oedipus Complex , Psychoanalysis/history , Psychoanalytic Interpretation , Adult , Attitude to Death , Child , Child Development , Correspondence as Topic/history , Fathers/psychology , Female , History, 19th Century , Humans , Male , Psychotherapeutic Processes , Repression, Psychology , Unconscious, PsychologyABSTRACT
O autor tem como objetivo fazer uma reflexão sobre o sentimento de desamparo que ocorre no psicanalista no exercício de sua prática. Apesar da importância do sentimento de desamparo já estar presente em toda a história da psicanálise, as mudanças de paradigma e a cultura atual podem acentuá-lo, caso o psicanalista não desenvolva uma adequada identidade analítica centralizada em cinco qualidades principais: capacidade de estar só, capacidade de tolerar o não saber, capacidade de sonhar, capacidade de usar os modelos psicanalíticos e capacidade de praticar a autoanálise.
The authors goal is to reflect on the feeling of state of helplessness felt by the psychoanalyst in his clinical practice. Even though the feeling of helplessness has been present throughout psychoanalysis history, the changes in paradigm and the current culture may enhance it if the analyst does not develop an adequate analytical identity centered on five main qualities: capacity of being alone, capacity of tolerating the unknown, capacity of dreaming, capacity of using the psychoanalytic models and capacity of exercising self-analysis.
El autor tiene por objetivo hacer una reflexión sobre el sentimiento de desamparo que le ocurre al psicoanalista en el ejercicio de su práctica. A pesar de que la importancia del sentimiento de desamparo ha estado presente en toda la historia del psicoanálisis, los cambios de paradigma y la cultura actual pueden acentuarlo si el psicoanalista no desarrolla una adecuada identidad analítica centrada en cinco cualidades principales: capacidad de estar solo, capacidad de tolerar el nosaber, capacidad de soñar, capacidad de usar los modelos psicoanalíticos y capacidad de practicar el autoanálisis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Dependency, Psychological , Helplessness, Learned , Religion and PsychologyABSTRACT
Este artigo trata das relações entre a tenepes e dupla evolutiva, técnicasbaseadas em relações de intimidade com fins assistenciais entre duas consciências.Representa o resultado de pesquisas realizadas ao longo de mais de uma décadade vivência teática da dupla evolutiva e da prática da tenepes pelo autor, a partirdo registro e análise de fatos vivenciados em dupla, da autoanálise críticae também da heteroanálise seguida de reflexão. O artigo apresenta traços-forçaque o praticante duplista pode desenvolver com evolução de suas práticasassistenciais servindo como esquema de autoanálise da condição da tenepes.Apresenta também aspectos da sinergia existente entre a dupla evolutivae a prática da tenepes propondo aspectos otimizadores da assistencialidade dadupla e entre a dupla como pilares do desenvolvimento da tenepes(AU)
This paper addresses relations between penta practice and the evolutionaryduo as techniques based on the assistance-oriented, intimate relationship oftwo consciousnesses. It presents the results of the authors theorical experiencesover more than a decade of evolutionary duo and penta practice. The collectionand examination of facts experienced by the couple, the critique self-analysis aswell as the hetero-analysis followed by reflection were basic to the research.The paper also discusses strong traits that can be developed by the duo partneras his assistantial tasks evolve, serving as a self-analysis scheme for pentapractices. It also approaches aspects of the synergy between the evolutionaryduo and the practice of penta, and puts forward optimization aspects of theduos assistantiality between themselves and towards others as bases for theenhancement of penta practicing(AU)
Este artículo trata de las relaciones entre la teneper y la pareja evolutiva,las técnicas se basan en las relaciones de intimidad con fines asistenciales entredos conciencias. Representa el resultado de investigaciones realizadas a lo largode mas de uma década de vivencia teática de la pareja evolutiva y de la prácticade la teneper por el autor, a partir del registro y análisis de hechos vivenciadosen pareja, de auto-análisis crítica y también de hetero-análisis seguida de reflexión.El artículo presenta trazos-fuerza que el praticante duplista puede desarrollarcon evolución de sus prácticas asistenciales sirviendo como esquema de autoanálisisde la condición de la teneper. Presenta también aspectos de la sinergiaexistente entre la pareja evolutiva y la práctica de la teneper proponiendoaspectos optimizadores de la asistencialidad de la pareja y entre la pareja comopilares del desarrollo de la teneper(AU)
ABSTRACT
A autora recupera as reflexões de vários autores sobre a auto-análise, desde Freud, pioneiro também da auto-análise. Freud falou de uma 'auto-análise continuada'. A discussão está colocada, entre os que pensam que a auto-análise seja possível, e os que pensam que seja impossível. Estando ativada a função da auto-análise, pode-se dizer que a tarefa de observador, delegada ao psicanalista na psicanálise, é reassumida pelo analisando, Portanto, chega-se à conclusão que a auto-análise, teoricamente, seja possível 'Talvez se deva dizer que a análise pessoal termina quando se deixa de pedir ao Outro aquilo que o Outro não tem para dar'. Essa parece ser a situação do paciente analisado, cuja análise encaminha-se para o término e, portanto, para a auto-análise(AU)
The author collects some ideas about auto-analysis, since Freud, pioneer also of the auto-analysis. Freud spoke of a 'continued auto-analysis'. The quarrel is open, between those who think auto-analysis is possible, and others who think it is impossible. Being activated, the function of the auto-analysis can one say that the observer task, delegated to the psychoanalyst in psychoanalytical process, is reassumed by analyzed subjects. So, we conclude theoretically that the auto-analysis is possible. Finally, 'it can be said that the personal analysis finishes when subject no more demands the Other what the Other does not have to give'. This seems to be the situation of the analyzed patient, whose analysis can be directed for the ending and, therefore, for the self-analysis(AU)
