ABSTRACT
After more than a century of existence, theoretical development, research, and clinical practice within the psychoanalytic movement have consistently demonstrated that psychoanalysis is not a unitary and autonomous discipline. This has been evidenced by the various ways in which psychoanalytic thought and practice have been informed by and have established a dialogue-more or less fruitful-with related disciplines (neurosciences, developmental psychology, psychotherapy research, attachment theory and research, feminism, philosophy). This dialogue has contributed to a better understanding of the functioning of the human psyche, and therefore of the analytic process, informing clinical interventions. In turn, it has enriched research on psychoanalytic practice and process, underlining the fact that research in psychoanalysis is fundamentally about clinical practice. Since its origins, psychoanalysis has made explicit the work on the patient-analyst relationship as the terrain in which the analytic process unfolds. For its part, research in psychotherapy has demonstrated the relevance of the therapeutic relationship for the good development and outcome of any psychotherapeutic process. This supports the argument that research in clinical psychoanalysis should be research on the impact of the analyst interventions on the analyst-patient relationship. In this context, a central element of what happens in the analytic relationship refers to affect communication and therefore, affect regulation, which is manifested in the transferential and counter-transferential processes, as well as in the therapeutic bond. On the other hand, affective regulation is found at the crossroads of etiopathogenesis, complex personality models and psychopathology, allowing the understanding of human functioning and the staging of these configurations in the patient-analyst relationship. In this way, research on affective regulation in the analytic process is proposed as a path that exemplifies interdisciplinary research and scientific pluralism from which psychoanalysis enriches and progresses as a discipline. The case of a line of research on affective regulation in psychoanalytic psychotherapy is illustrated. The need to resort to other disciplines, as well as the translational value of our research and its clinical usefulness, is discussed.
ABSTRACT
Presentaremos reflexiones y puentes conceptuales que surgieron del trabajo de articulación entre los resultados y las experiencias de dos programas de la Facultad de Psicología (UBA) iniciados en 2001: un programa de investigación UBACyT sobre regulación y desregulación afectiva en la primera infancia basado en el microanálisis de observaciones de interacciones lúdicas madre-niño videofilmadas, y un programa de extensión universitaria que se lleva a cabo por docentes y estudiantes en hogares de tránsito de la ciudad de Buenos Aires con niños y adolescentes en situaciones de riesgo social que viven separados de sus familias de origen por intervención judicial. Consideramos que los aportes de nuestras investigaciones sobre regulación afectiva, autorregulación y desregulación en la infancia pueden aplicarse a la comprensión de los posibles efectos disruptivos que la discontinuidad en el sostén parental puede producir en la estructuración psíquica y en las dificultades en el proceso de simbolización. Los resultados de la investigación muestran la influencia de los adultos como agentes de transformación de los afectos disruptivos en el niño. Creemos que estos conocimientos pueden aportar a la creación de recursos de intervención temprana en niños en situaciones de vulnerabilidad social.
In this paper we present reflections and conceptual bridges produced by putting together results and experiences of two programs being conducted by the Faculty of Psychology, Buenos Aires University, initiated in 2001: an UBACyT research program that deals with affect regulation- dysregulation in infancy, based in the analysis of videotaped and microanalysed observations of mother - child play interactions; and an extension community program that is conducted in foster care institutions at Buenos Aires city by teachers and students, where children and adolescents in social risk situations are institutionalized by judicial intervention, separated from their families. We believe that the contribution of our research in affect regulation, self-regulation and dysregulation in infancy can be applied to the understanding of possible disruptive effects that discontinuity in the parental support can produce in psychic structure and in difficulties in the process of symbolization. The results of the research show the influence of adults like agents of transformation of disruptive affects in the child. We believe that this knowledge can contribute to the creation of early intervention resources for children in social risk.