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Internal World (internal + world)
Selected AbstractsPower cut in the countertransferenceTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Alessandra Cavalli Abstract:, This paper is an attempt to describe and understand a certain type of defence that I shall call a ,power cut' because of its crippling and anti-relational nature. I will take extracts from a baby observation to show how this type of defence can be adopted from the beginning of life, followed by vignettes from my work with a young child and an adult patient which addresses the particular kind of difficulty the analyst has to face with patients who resort to such a defence. I am arguing that while defending from another, the patient is able to destabilize not only the connection between himself and this other, the analyst, but also that between the analyst and the analyst's internal world. I understand this as the violent re-enactment of the patient's uncontained and split off primitive experience. I see recovery from ,power cuts' as the main challenge for the analyst who is helping the patient to recover from an early failure in containment which has led to defective splitting. Only when the unthinkable experience of ,power cut' can become an experience that can be lived through and converted into a deintegrate, may integration be achieved. Translations of Abstract Cet article est une tentative de décrire et de comprendre un certain type de défenses que je nommerai « courts-circuits», du fait de leur nature invalidante et anti-relationnelle. Je présenterai des extraits d'une observation de nourrisson pour montrer comment ce type de défenses peut être adopté dès le début de la vie. Je poursuivrai par des vignettes de mon travail avec un jeune enfant et un patient adulte révélatrices du type de difficultés auxquelles est confronté l'analyste avec des patients relevant de ce type de défenses. Je montre que, tandis qu'il se défend d'un autre, l'individu est capable de déstabiliser non seulement le lien qui le relie à cet autre, l'analyste en l'occurrence, mais également le lien de l'analyste avec son propre monde interne. Je comprends cela comme une violente remise en acte de l'expérience primaire de clivage et d'absence de contenant. J'envisage la guérison des « courts-circuits» comme le défi majeur de l'analyste qui aide le patient à réparer la faille précoce du contenant primaire génératrice du clivage. Ce n'est que lorsque l'expérience impensable du « court-circuit » est devenue une expérience vivable pour le patient, que celle-ci peut se transformer en un dé-intégrat et ouvrir la voie à l'intégration. Dieser Text ist ein Versuch, einen bestimmten Abwehrtypus zu beschreiben und zu verstehen, den ich wegen seiner lähmenden und antibeziehungshaften Natur ,Stromsperre' nennen werde. Ich werde Auszüge aus einer Babybeobachtung heranziehen um zu zeigen, wie dieser Abwehrmodus vom Beginn des Lebens an aufgebaut werden kann. Es folgen Vignetten aus meiner Arbeit mit einem Kleinkind und einem erwachsenen Patienten die sich auf die bestimmte Art von Schwierigkeiten beziehen, die dem Analytiker bei Patienten begegnen, die sich in solcherart Abwehr flüchten. Ich zeige auf, daß, während er sich vor dem anderen schützt, der Patient nicht nur in die Lage gerät, die Verbindung zwischen ihm selbst und diesem anderen, dem Analytiker, zu destabilisieren, sondern auch jene zwischen dem Analytiker und des Analytikers innerer Welt. Ich verstehe dies als die gewaltsame Reinszenierung einer nicht eingebundenen und abgespaltenen primitiven Erfahrung des Patienten. Ich sehe die Behebung von ,Stromsperren' als Hauptherausforderung für den Analytiker an, der dem Patienten hilft, von einem frühen Versagen des Gehaltenwerdens zu genesen, daß zur Spaltung geführt hat. Nur wenn die undenkbare Erfahrung ,Stromsperre' zu einer Erfahrung werden kann, die durchlebt und in ein Nichtintegriertes überführt werden kann, mag Integration erreicht werden. Questo lavoro è un tentativo di descrivere e comprendere un certo tipo di difesa che chiamerò,corto circuito' per via della sua natura mutilante e antirelazionale. Presenterò estratti dall'osservazione del neonato per mostrare come questo tipo di difesa può essere adottata fin dagli inizi della vita seguiti da vignette del mio lavoro con un bambino e con un paziente adulto che indicano il particolare tipo di difficoltà che l'analista deve affrontare con pazienti che si aggrappano a tale difesa. Sostengo che mentre si difende dall'altro il paziente è capace di destabilizzare non solo le connessioni tra se stesso e questo altro, ma anche tra l'analista e il mondo interno dell'analista. Intendo con ciò il violento ripresentarsi della esperienza primaria del paziente non contenuta e scissa. Considero il riprendersi dalla ,corto circuito' come la sfida principale petr l'analista che sta aiutando il paziente a guarire dal precoce fallimento del contenimento che ha portato alla scissione. L'integrazione può essere raggiunta solo quando l'esperienza impensabile della ,corto circuito' può diventare una esperienza che si può attraversare e convertire in una reintegrazione. Este trabajo es una intento por de describir y comprender un cierto tipo de defensa que llamaré un ,corte de energía' a causa de su efecto paralizador y su naturaleza anti-relacional. Tomaré extractos de una observación de un bebé para mostrar cómo este tipo de defensa puede surgir al principio de la vida, seguido por viñetas de mi trabajo con un niño y un paciente adulto para explorar el tipo de dificultad que el analista tiene que encarar con pacientes que recurren a tal defensa. Discuto que al defenderse del otro, el paciente puede desestabilizar no sólo la conexión con él mismo y este otro, el analista, sino también entre el analista y el mundo interno del analista. Entiendo esto como la reconstrucción violenta sin contención y disociadora de la experiencia primitiva del paciente. ,Considero a ,estos cortes de energía' como el principal desafío para el analista que ayuda al paciente a recuperarse de un fracaso temprano en la contención que lo ha llevado a la disociación. Sólo cuando la experiencia inconcebible de ,corte de energía' pueda ser revivida y convertida en una desintegración, se puede lograr la integración. [source] The self invented personality?THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Reflections on authenticity, writing analytic papers Abstract:, One of the great themes of American literature is the self-invented personality, whether it is Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby or one of Philip Roth's alter egos, such as Nathaniel Zuckerman. This is just one of several approaches which novelists employ. They take a problem from life, perhaps their own, and then embark on solving the problem of the book,which is how to write about this. Sometimes, as in Tobias Wolff's novel Old School, the personality of the narrator is woven into an exploration of the creative process itself. Wolff's novel concerns itself not just with writing but with how to become a writer. I explore how this process is similar to both writing about analysis and becoming an analyst. In doing this I discuss issues of authenticity, fiction, art, the effects of identification, the power of the super-ego, supervision and learning, integrity of life and work, envy and the xenocidal impulse, the regulation of our profession and the loss of trust, and in so doing join in discussion with Plaut, Wharton, Tuckett and others about professional communications, the internal world and the mysteriousness of our relation to our internal objects. [source] An under-active or over-active internal world?THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2005An exploration of parallel dynamics within psyche, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the difficulty of internal regulation Abstract:, This paper explores the dynamics brought into analytic work when there is a symmetric fusion between psyche and soma within the patient. It will consider how such a fusion may emerge from reverberations between physical constitution and a lack of maternal attunement, containment and reflective function. I will describe the work with a patient, Jane, who was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) during the course of her analysis. The dynamic of her physical symptoms within the analytic work, and the impact of her internal affects and internal ,objects' within the transference and countertransference, indicated a difficulty in finding an homeostatic balance resulting in overactivity and underactivity at both somatic and psychological levels. Using the clinical work with Jane this paper will also examine the interrelationship between mother-infant attachment, an inadequate internalized maternal reflective function, affect dysregulation, unconscious fusion, the lack of psyche-soma differentiation and the impact of the latter in relation to internal regulation systems, or lack of, in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). I will draw on similar work carried out by Holland (1997), Simpson (1997) and Simpson et al. (1997). The paper will also employ the concept of the reflective function (Fonagy 2001; Knox 2003), and consider Matte-Blanco's (1999) concepts of generalization and unconscious symmetry in relation to the patient's internal world. I go on to consider how analysis provides a point outside the ,fusion' that can enable the ,deadlock' to be broken. [source] Annotation: Tourette syndrome: a relentless drumbeat , driven by misguided brain oscillationsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 6 2006James F. Leckman Objective:, This annotation reviews recent evidence that points to the likely role of aberrant neural oscillations in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS). Methods:, The available anatomic and electrophysiological findings in TS are reviewed in the context of an emerging picture of the crucial role that neural oscillations play in maintaining normal central nervous system (CNS) function. Results:, Neurons form behavior-dependent oscillating networks of various sizes and frequencies that bias input selection and facilitate synaptic plasticity, mechanisms that cooperatively support temporal representation as well as the transfer and long-term consolidation of information. Coherent network activity is likely to modulate sensorimotor gating as well as focused motor actions. When these networks are dysrhythmic, there may be a loss of control of sensory information and motor action. The known electrophysiological effects of medications and surgical interventions used to treat TS likely have an ameliorative effect on these aberrant oscillations. Similarly, a strong case can be made that successful behavioral treatments involve the willful training regions of the prefrontal cortex to engage in tic suppression and the performance of competing motor responses to unwanted sensory urges such that these prefrontal regions become effective modulators of aberrant thalamocortical rhythms. Conclusions:, A deeper understanding of neural oscillations may illuminate the complex, challenging, enigmatic, internal world that is TS. [source] Inside out, or outside in: meeting with couplesJOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 2 2006Hugh Jenkins The complex difficulties often faced by couples require a range of models for effective help. Relational intensity is heightened in therapy by the ease with which the therapist can be triangled into the couple's relationship and by the influence of the emotional triggers from their respective internal worlds. This article draws on systemic and psychodynamic models and a transgenerational perspective for gendered stories. Different time frameworks link interpersonal and intrapersonal themes. In this sense, the therapist works ,inside out' and ,outside in'. A framework of behaviours, emotions, feelings, meanings and beliefs is proposed to help link these perspectives. ,Invisible contracts' and the sense of there often being an unconscious ,pact to disappoint' are described. Clear models are not enough, for it is the intimate encounter between client and therapist that is the bedrock of therapeutic change and growth. There is no short cut to this sense of intimacy in the unique encounter between therapist and each new couple. Brief examples from practice describe how the issues discussed may be addressed in couples work. [source] The analyst's countertransference to the psychoanalytic process,THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 5 2006MICHAEL PARSONS There is countertransference, not just to individual patients, but to the process of psychoanalysis itself. The analytic process is a contentious topic. Disagreements about its nature can arise from taking it as a unitary concept that should have a single defi nition whereas, in fact, there are several strands to its meaning. The need for the analyst's free associative listening, as a counterpart to the patient's free associations, implies resistance to the analytic process in the analyst as well as the patient. The author gives examples of the self-analysis that this necessitates. The most important happenings in both the analyst's and the patient's internal worlds lie at the boundary between conscious and unconscious, and the nature of an analyst's interventions depends on how fully what happens at that boundary is articulated in the analyst's consciousness. The therapeutic quality of an analyst's engagement with a patient depends on the freeing and enlivening quality, for the analyst, of the analyst's engagement with his or her countertransference to the analytic process. [source] Transformations of self: a phenomenological investigation into the lived experience of survivors of critical illnessNURSING IN CRITICAL CARE, Issue 1 2003Elizabeth DE Papathanassoglou Summary ,Based on the hermeneutical, phenomenological perspective, this study explored the lived experience of individuals with a past hospitalization in an intensive care unit, with focus on their dreams. The purpose was to explore how it is to have been critically ill ,Dreams are the language of the unconscious and can symbolically convey meanings ,Eight participants recounted their experiences with critical illness through semi-structured phenomenological interviews and dream-telling. An interplay between the ,factual,external' world and the ,internal' world appeared to be the basis of their perception of the situation. Participants' narratives were immensely rich in symbols of transformation, transcendence and rebirth. Transformations in perception, in lived-body, and in lived time and space were some of the themes emerging as part of both conscious and dreaming experiences. Attitudes towards death were altered, and elements of heightened spirituality were evident in the aftermath of critical illness ,Critical illness was conceptualized as a ,cocooning phase' leading to transformation of self, spiritual arousal and personal growth. Nurses may be able to alleviate suffering by supporting this process while in the ICU, as well as after discharge [source] | ||||||||||