Artificial Intelligence on The Couch. Staying Human Post-AI.

This paper examines the human relationship to technology, and AI in particular, including the proposition that algorithms are the new unconscious. Key is the question of how much human ability will be duplicated and transcended by general machine intelligence. More and more people are seeking connection via social media and interaction with artificial beings. The paper examines what it means to be human and which of these traits are already or will be replicated by AI. Therapy bots already exist. It is easier to envision AI therapy guided by CBT manuals than psychoanalytic techniques. Yet, a demonstration of how AI can already perform dream analysis reaching beyond a dream's manifest content is presented. The reader is left to consider whether these findings demand a new role for psychoanalysis in supporting, sustaining, and reframing our humanity as we create technology that transcends our abilities.

"Mourning and Melancholia" Meets The Babadook: Emptiness and its Relation to Absence.

This paper explores how the film The Babadook illuminates psychoanalytic understandings of melancholia and mourning. The author attempts to unwind the complicated character of melancholia, using Freud as an initial point of orientation, then relying on a few ideas from Klein and later writers. The paper attempts to refine our understanding of the difference between absence and emptiness, especially the difference between being captured in the nothing or deadness of melancholic emptiness, on the one hand, and being alive enough to suffer the absence of a lost object, which bears a potential for mourning, on the other. The possibility of psychic tension between these states is explored. Some implications of the relationship between absence and emptiness for the mourning process are considered. The author uses the film as a resource throughout.

A metapsychological framework for sadomasochism.

The authors present a summary of sadomasochism, its centrality in all pathology and the difficulties encountered by all analysts in working with sadomasochism. An integrative model is presented with determinants and manifestations from all phases of development, including the transmission of pathology between generations. Addiction to pain and the formation of hostile omnipotent beliefs are described as components of sadomasochism that explain how resistant sadomasochism is to change and growth. The emergent idea of two systems of self-regulation is presented and its utility for technique is described. Specific focus on developmental aspects offers therapists developmental markers they can use in clinical work.

Growing Up Wild: Reflections on Early Middle Childhood as Captured by Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

A pattern of psychic fragmentation followed by consolidation occurs throughout life and can be seen in all developmental stages. Using Neil Gaiman's novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the authors focus on the experience of disorganization and re-organization in early middle childhood. The frequency with which young boys use fantasy to contain affects and impulses makes the literary genre of magic realism especially well-suited for the exploration of psychological states during early middle childhood.

Knowing and being known: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and the sense of authenticity.

Participants in MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy often emerge from these treatments with new beliefs about themselves and the world. Studies have linked changed beliefs with mystical experiences reported by some participants during drug sessions. While there has been some debate about the epistemic value of drug-induced mystical experiences, and about the need for consent to treatments that may alter metaphysical beliefs, less attention has been given to the sense of authenticity that attends these experiences. In this paper, I consider the intersubjective context in which these changed beliefs arise. I suggest that the sense of authenticity people experience with MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy derives from a simultaneous feeling of knowing and being known. The medications used in these treatments reduce the defensive barriers which ordinarily prevent powerful feelings from being intersubjectively shared, allowing the subject to experience knowing and being known with the therapist and/or internalized or imagined others. In explaining this thesis, I discuss Ratcliffe's "existential feeling;" ipseity in incipient psychosis and psychedelic states; Winnicott's notions of the True Self, omnipotence, creativity, and transitional phenomena; implicit relational knowing and moments of meeting; infant-mother dyad research; predictive processing and the relaxed beliefs model of psychedelic action; the role of the "partner in thought" in knowing and feeling known. I propose that a "transitional space" model of MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is well-suited for working through "not-me" or dissociated experience.

What COVID-19 Laid Bare About What Children Need to Live and Grow.

The author explores the unconscious meanings of the physical absence of the three-dimensional world of people and how these play a critical role in children's reactions to restrictions in human contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. When children are deprived of the corporeality of loved ones, the children's continuously emerging and unstable self-and-other arrangements may trap normative feelings of envy, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, love, and idealization. During lockdowns, there is no place where these raw emotions can be tested, so they remain untempered by the real presence of others and by interactivity with them, feeding aggression that is turned back against the child with frightening ferocity. How do children who must reside in such abstinence during a pandemic pull themselves up the ladder of growth when others whom they rely upon to help them discover who they are, are not there? A description of an observation of a young child attending a Zoom classroom is included, with accompanying commentary.

Testing the Interpersonal-Cognitive Model of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Youths with Either Early-Stage Borderline Personality Disorder or First-Episode Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder.

This is the first study to explore interpersonal schemata in outpatient youths (age 15-25 years) with early-stage borderline personality disorder (BPD) and auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). It also aimed to replicate, in a transdiagnostic youth sample, the finding from studies of adults with AVH that negative beliefs about the self and others lead to negative appraisals of voices, which in turn elicits depression. The following 3 groups were compared: youth with BPD+AVH (n = 23), youth with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SZ) with AVH (SZ+AVH, n = 20), and youths with BPD who did not experience AVH (BPD no AVH, n = 23). The BPD+AVH group reported more negative and fewer positive self schemata than the SZ+AVH group. They also saw themselves as being more socially inferior to others than did the SZ+AVH group, but they did not differ in appraisals of self or others, compared with the BPD no AVH group. In youths with AVH (BPD+AVH, SZ+AVH combined), the indirect effect of beliefs about self or others, via negative appraisals of voices on depression, was not significant. Instead, a significant indirect effect of negative appraisals of voices on depression, via negative beliefs about self, was found. The experience of AVH during adolescence and young adulthood, when the identity is still being formed, might have a more profound effect on the developing self than during later adulthood, when the self is more stable and resilient. Negative self-appraisals might constitute a treatment target for early intervention for youths with distressing voices, including those with BPD.

Parasitic Language.

This paper presents initial thoughts about the phenomenon of parasitic language. This is a language which clings to the other's linguistic patterns and in doing so produces a double manifestation of omnipotence and impotence; a language that forges a linguistic "prosthesis," and while allowing for a false manifestation of language and thinking, constitutes thoughts as foreign objects that are mechanically and artificially "stuck" to the speaking subject. The early roots of this language, as illustrated in a detailed analytical case description, inhere in the infiltration of language by multi-generational traumatic traces. This turns language itself into a scene of simultaneous repetition of the act of salvation and the act of annihilation.

Suicídio na adolescência: tentando pensar o impensável / Suicide in adolescence: trying to think the unthinkable / Suicidio en la adolescencia: tratando de pensar lo impensable / Suicide à l'adolescence: tentative de penser l'impensable

Neste trabalho a autora revisita várias abordagens teóricas diferentes a respeito da adolescência e do suicídio nessa fase da vida, enfatizando a diferença entre o desejo de matar-se, procurando sair desta vida em busca de outra, ou mesmo tentando eliminar um perseguidor interno, e o desejo de morrer propriamente dito. As situações clínicas oferecidas iluminam diferentes configurações e funcionamentos mentais, exemplificando aspectos importantes, como onipotência, negação da violência interna, desejo de união com o objeto idealizado e vivências francamente psicóticas, frequentes nessa fase da vida, onde a desfusão pulsional libera a destrutividade, tornando a personalidade vulnerável aos elementos provenientes da explosão pulsional e do ambiente social e cultural. O trabalho traz também contribuições da literatura que ajudam a ampliar nossas possibilidades de compreender a complexidade da condição humana.

In this work the author revisits several theoretical approaches on adolescence and on suicide in this stage of life, emphasizing the difference between the wish to kill oneself to escape this life in search of another one, or to try to eliminate an inner persecutor, and the wish to die per se. The clinical situations presented shed light on different mental configurations and functioning that exemplify important aspects such as omnipotence, denial of the inner violence, desire to unite with the idealized object, and clearly psychotic experiences, frequent in this stage of life, in which the termination drive releases destructiveness making the personality vulnerable to the elements originated from the pulsatory explosion and from the sociocultural environment. The work also brings contributions from Literature, which help amplify our possibilities to understand the complexity of the human condition.

En este artículo, la autora revisa varios enfoques teóricos diferentes acerca de la adolescencia y del suicidio en esta etapa de la vida, enfatizando la diferencia entre el deseo de suicidarse - con la intención de abandonar esta vida en busca de otra o, incluso, eliminar un acosador interno - y el deseo de morir. Las situaciones clínicas que se ofrecen ilustran las diferentes configuraciones y funcionamientos mentales, ejemplificando aspectos importantes como la omnipotencia, la negación de la violencia interna, el deseo de unión con el objeto idealizado y las experiencias francamente psicóticas, frecuentes en esta fase de la vida, donde la defusión pulsional libera la destructividad, volviendo la personalidad vulnerable a los elementos provenientes de la explosión pulsional y del entorno social y cultural. El trabajo aporta, además, contribuciones de la literatura que ayudan a ampliar nuestras posibilidades de comprender la complejidad de la condición humana.

Dans ce travail, l'auteur revisite différents abordages théoriques concernant l'adolescence aussi bien que le suicide dans cette phase de la vie. Elle met l'accent sur la distinction entre le désir de se tuer, quittant cette vie pour en trouver une autre ou même pour essayer d'éliminer un persécuteur intérieur, et le désir de mourir proprement dit. Les cas cliniques proposés éclairent diverses configurations et fonctionnements mentaux, en illustrant certains aspects importants comme la toute-puissance, la négation de la violence intérieure, le désir d'union à l'objet idéalisé et des vécus franchement psychotiques, fréquents dans cette période de la vie où la déliaison pulsionnelle libère la destructivité et rend la personnalité vulnérable aux éléments issus de l'explosion pulsionnelle et de l'ambiance sociale et culturelle. Le travail puise également dans la littérature une aide pour la compréhension de la complexité de la condition humaine.

El protegido [Unbreakable], de M. Night Shyamalan. Un superhéroe entre la fantasía infantil de omnipotencia y la búsqueda del padre / Le protégé (Unbreakable) de M. Night Shyamalan. Un superhérosentre le fantasme infantile de toute-puissance et la recherche du père / Unbreakable by M. Night Shyamalan. A superhero caught between the infantile fantasy of omnipotence and the quest for the father

Este artículo reflexiona en torno a la importancia de la función paterna como límite entre madre e hijo, mediadora en el juego de la omnipotencia infantil que compromete a ambos. Para hacerlo utiliza como material de trabajo la figura del superhéroe, creación moderna que a la vez está anclada en una tradición cultural milenaria, manifestación creativa del yo ideal, en la cual el autor piensa que se representan características a la vez universales y particulares de los procesos anímicos. Interesante, pues, para entender un poco mejor esos procesos, con la atención puesta en cada uno de los miembros de la triada formada por la madre, el padre y el hijo, y en las dinámicas del narcisismo, el Edipo y la castración que les atraviesa y regula sus relaciones. Interesante, quizá, para entender algo de los tiempos que vivimos. Una película es la excusa a partir de la cual se plantean estas reflexiones. (AU)

The article reflects upon the importance of the parental function as a boundary between mother and child, a go-between in the play of infantile omnipotence that both are engaged in. Working material is taken from the figure of the superhero, a creation that is at once modern, and rooted in a centuries-old cultural tradition; the creative manifestation of the ideal ego, in which we find, according to the author, characteristics both universal and unique to the psychic processes. It is worthwhile understanding these processes a little better, by paying attention to each of the members of the triad formed by mother, father and child, permeated as they are by the dynamics of narcissism, Oedipus and castration, which governs their relatedness. Worthwhile, perhaps, to understand the times we live in a little better. A film serves as a pretext for these reflections. (AU)

Cet article est une réflexion sur l’importance de la fonction paternelle en tant que limite entre mère et enfant, médiatrice dans le jeu de la toute-puissance infantile qui les engage tous les deux. Pour ce faire il utilise comme matériel de travail la figure du superhéros, création moderne qui est en même temps ancrée dans une tradition culturelle millénaire, manifestation créatrice du moi idéal, dans laquelle l’auteur pense que sont représentées des caractéristiques en même temps universelles et particulières des processus animiques. Intéressant, donc, pour comprendre un peu mieux ces processus, avec l’attention dirigée vers chacun des membres de la triade formée par la mère, le père et l’enfant, et dans les dynamiques du narcissisme, l’Œdipe et la castration qui les traversent et qui règlent leurs rapports. Intéressant, peut-être, pour comprendre quelque chose à l’époque actuelle. Un film est l’excuse à partir de laquelle ces réflexions sont proposées. (AU)

A mente totalitária / Totalitarian mind / La mente totalitaria / L'esprit totalitaire

Partindo das reflexões de Hannah Arendt, o autor descreve, do ponto de vista psicanalítico, a formação e o funcionamento da mente totalitária, isto é, daquela que orientou a ação dos regimes hitlerista e stalinista. Busca caracterizar a estrutura psíquica sem a qual a mente totalitária não se organiza e cuja presença a torna operacional. Apresenta a hierarquia necessária à existência dela e as diferentes formas que assume (mentor, aderente e vítima). A compreensão da estrutura e do funcionamento da mente totalitária é fundamentalmente baseada em Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, Donald Meltzer e André Green.

The author uses Hannah Arendt's reflections as underlying ideas to describe, from a psychoanalytic perspective, the development and functioning of a totalitarian mind, i.e. the mind that was behind both Hitler's and Stalin's regimes. The author's purpose is to characterize the mental structure that enables the totalitarian mind to operate. Without this structure, he explains, the totalitarian mind cannot be even organized. He presents the hierarchy that is vital to this totalitarian mind and the different roles it may play (mentor, adherent, or victim). The comprehension of the structure and functioning of the totalitarian mind is mainly based on Melanie Klein's, Wilfred Bion's, Donald Meltzer's, and Andre Green's work.

Partiendo de las reflexiones de Hannah Arendt, el autor describe, desde el punto de vista psicoanalítico, la formación y el funcionamiento de la mente totalitaria, es decir, aquella que orientó la acción de los regímenes hitleriano y estalinista. Busca caracterizar la estructura psíquica sin la cual la mente totalitaria no se organiza y cuya presencia la hace operativa. Presenta la jerarquía necesaria para su existencia y las diferentes formas que asume (mentor, adherente y víctima). La comprensión de la estructura y el funcionamiento de la mente totalitaria está basada, fundamentalmente, en Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, Donald Meltzer y André Green.

L'auteur décrit, du point de vue psychanalytique, partant des réflexions de Hannah Arendt, la formation et le fonctionnement de l'esprit totalitaire, c'està- dire, de celui qui a orienté l'action des régimes hitlérien et stalinien. Il cherche à caractériser la structure psychique sans laquelle l'esprit totalitaire ne s'organise pas et dont la présence permet qu'il devienne opérationnel. L'auteur présente la hiérarchie nécessaire à son existence et les différentes formes qu'il prend (mentor, adhérant et victime). La compréhension de la structure et du fonctionnement de l'esprit totalitaire est fondamentalement basée sur Mélanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, Donald Meltzer et André Green.

Illusion as a Basic Psychic Principle: Winnicott, Freud, Oedipus, and Trump.

Illusion can be viewed as a creative engagement with the world, and as a central psychic motivation and capacity, rather than as a form of self-deception. Winnicott and other Middle Group writers have understood integrative, imaginative illusion as an essential part of healthy living and psychosocial development. As such, it emerges and presents itself in a variety of ways, in transaction with the realities that support or degrade it. In its absence, varied difficulties in living ensue. To elaborate and illustrate this conceptualization, Freud's notion that the oedipus complex is resolved is reconsidered as a creative misreading of Sophocles' Oedipus trilogy, one based on the plausible illusion of a civilizing psychosocial development that would serve as a protective bastion against his experience of the political chaos and violence of the first decades of twentieth-century European history. Finally, the place of illusion and disillusionment among those most disillusioned by the recent election of Donald Trump in the United States is considered in relation to the recent right-wing populist turn.

Voluntarist theology and early-modern science: The matter of the divine power, absolute and ordained.

This paper is an intervention in the debate inaugurated by Peter Harrison in 2002 when he called into question the validity of what has come to be called 'the voluntarism and early-modern science thesis'. Though it subsequently drew support from such historians of science as J. E. McGuire, Margaret Osler, and Betty-Joe Teeter Dobbs, the origins of the thesis are usually traced back to articles published in 1934 and 1961 respectively by the philosopher Michael Foster and the historian of ideas Francis Oakley. Central to Harrison's critique of the thesis are claims he made about the meaning of the scholastic distinction between the potentia dei absoluta et ordinata and the role it played in the thinking of early-modern theologians and natural philosophers. This paper calls directly into question the accuracy of Harrison's claims on that very matter.

The Beliefs about Voices Questionnaire - Revised: A factor structure from 450 participants.

Hallucinated voices are common across psychiatric and non-clinical groups. The predominant cognitive theory about the impact of voices posits that beliefs about voice power ('Omnipotence') and voice intent ('Malevolence'/'Benevolence') play a key role in determining emotional and behavioral reactions. The revised Beliefs about Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ-R) was designed to assess these constructs, together with two styles of responding (Engagement and Resistance). The BAVQ-R is widely used in clinical and research settings, yet it has not received validation of its constructs and factor structure. This study examined the factor structure of the BAVQ-R by combining datasets from five study centers, comprising 450 participants (belief constructs) and 269 participants (response styles), and using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. Findings failed to support a three factor belief model, instead showing a two-factor structure ('Persecutory beliefs' combining Omnipotence and Malevolence constructs, and a Benevolent construct). Emotional and behavioral items did not separate. Overall, results showed that (i) a two-factor model of beliefs (Persecutory and Benevolent beliefs) provides a better fit to the data than a three-factor model, and (ii) emotional and behavioral modes of responding items should not be separated. Theoretical implications of this finding are discussed in relation to the research and therapy.

Distress, omnipotence, and responsibility beliefs in command hallucinations.

OBJECTIVES: Command hallucinations are considered to be one of the most distressing and disturbing symptoms of schizophrenia. Building on earlier studies, we compare key attributes in the symptomatic, affective, and cognitive profiles of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and hearing voices that do (n = 77) or do not (n = 74) give commands. METHODS: The study employed a cross-sectional design, in which we assessed voice severity, distress and control (PSYRATs), anxiety and depression (HADS), beliefs about voices (BAVQ-R), and responsibility beliefs (RIQ). Clinical and demographic variables were also collected. RESULTS: Command hallucinations were found to be more distressing and controlling, perceived as more omnipotent and malevolent, linked to higher anxiety and depression, and resisted more than hallucinations without commands. Commanding voices were also associated with higher conviction ratings for being personally responsible for preventing harm. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest key differences in the affective and cognitive profiles of people who hear commanding voices, which have important implications for theory and psychological interventions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Command hallucinations are associated with higher distress, malevolence, and omnipotence. Command hallucinations are associated with higher responsibility beliefs for preventing harm. Responsibility beliefs are associated with voice-related distress. Future psychological interventions for command hallucinations might benefit from focussing not only on omnipotence, but also on responsibility beliefs, as is done in psychological therapies for obsessive compulsive disorder. Limitations The cross-sectional design does not assess issues of causality. We did not measure the presence or severity of delusions.

Revisiting the destiny compulsion.

This paper is an attempt to deal with some questions raised by the so-called 'compulsion of destiny' constellation. In presenting the standpoints of Freud and of psychoanalysts who after him were concerned with this problematic, the author takes the view that several aspects of the configuration merit further discussion. Accordingly, the dynamics of repetition compulsion, the complexity of the projective strategy, the coexistence of passive and omnipotent trends are considered. Concerning compulsive repetitions the dimension of drive intrication is underlined, thus moderating the understanding of this clinical entity as mainly related to death drive trends. Projection is understood as serving complex psychic demands. The coexistence of passive and omnipotent trends is envisaged, as manifested in phantasies of submission / participation of patients to a force that exceeds human limitations. For certain cases the consonance of somatic and psychic experiences is noted. Finally, elements from the material of two cases are presented which pertain to the problematic of the compulsion of destiny in which random events are submitted to heavy psychic necessities.

De boca fechada: comunicação além das palavras / Keeping the mouth shut: communication beyond words / En silencio: comunicación más allá de las palabras

Temos nos preocupado com a criança que não fala tentando colocar palavras em sua boca. Mas quanto mais as forçamos, mais firmemente suas bocas podem se fechar. Às vezes, nos colocamos em posição de ensinar a criança a falar. Por fim, reconhecemos que uma relação não se refere a palavras; trata-se do desejo de alcançar o outro, oferecer-se ao outro, para encontrar algum sentido em conjunto, para compreender quais são os obstáculos à formação de um bom relacionamento com os outros. As palavras da criança podem ser úteis em uma terapia, mas elas não são o ingrediente essencial. Este texto vai examinar as defesas autísticas em crianças com dificuldades alimentares, mantendo o foco na comunicação além das palavras.

We have worried about non-speaking children, and we have tried to put words in their mouths. However, the more we force them to speak, the more tightly closed their mouths may become. Sometimes we put ourselves in the position of teaching the child to speak. We finally realize a relationship is not a question of words; it is a one's wish to reach out to the other, to offer oneself to another, and to find some meaning together in order to understand what are the barriers to forming a good rapport with others. The child's words may be useful in the therapy (as well as talking to the child), but they may not be the essential ingredient. By focusing on communication beyond words, this paper will examine autistic defenses in children with feeding problems.

Nos hemos preocupado con el niño que no habla intentando poner palabras en su boca. Pero mientras más lo obligamos, más fuertemente se calla. A veces nos colocamos en una posición de enseñar al niño a hablar. Finalmente reconocemos que una relación no se refiere a palabras, se trata del deseo de alcanzar al otro, ofrecerse para encontrar algún sentido en conjunto, para comprender cuáles son los obstáculos para la formación de una buena relación con los otros. Las palabras del niño pueden ser útiles en una terapia, pero no son el ingrediente esencial. Este texto examinará las defensas autísticas en niños con dificultades alimenticias, manteniendo el foco en la comunicación más allá de las palabras.

NARCISSISTIC DEFENSES IN THE DISTORTION OF FREE ASSOCIATION AND THEIR UNDERLYING ANXIETIES.

This paper examines particular distortions in the process of free association characteristics of patients with narcissistic personality disorders. The author proposes that the dominant narcissistic transference developments typical of the early and middle phases of the analytic treatment of these patients are reflected in these distortions of free association. This paper gathers the various patterns that these defensive distortions present, along with technical interventions geared to deal with them.

THE USE AND ABUSE OF OMNIPOTENCE IN THE JOURNEY OF THE HERO.

The author uses Joseph Campbell's (1949) account of the "Journey of the Hero" to examine a sequence of stages in which the hero must first use omnipotence in order to embark on an adventure, and then relinquish it in order to return to the ordinary world. The author detects parallels to this theme in descriptions of the fate of Lucifer in Milton's Paradise Lost (1674), and in the development of toddlers as described in Mahler's (1972) observations on separation-individuation. Finally, he traces a similar process in clinical material drawn from near the end of a patient's analysis.