Is there still a place for the concept of therapeutic regression in psychoanalysis?

The author uses his own failure to find a place for the idea of therapeutic regression in his clinical thinking or practice as the basis for an investigation into its meaning and usefulness. He makes a distinction between three ways the term ‘regression’ is used in psychoanalytic discourse: as a way of evoking a primitive level of experience; as a reminder in some clinical situations of the value of non-intervention on the part of the analyst; and as a description of a phase of an analytic treatment with some patients where the analyst needs to put aside normal analytic technique in order to foster a regression in the patient. It is this third meaning, which the author terms “therapeutic regression” that this paper examines, principally by means of an extended discussion of two clinical examples of a patient making a so-called therapeutic regression, one given by Winnicott and the other by Masud Khan. The author argues that in these examples the introduction of the concept of therapeutic regression obscures rather than clarifies the clinical process. He concludes that, as a substantial clinical concept, the idea of therapeutic regression has outlived its usefulness. However he also notes that many psychoanalytic writers continue to find a use for the more generic concept of regression, and that the very engagement with the more particular idea of therapeutic regression has value in provoking questions as to what is truly therapeutic in psychoanalytic treatment

The Music Therapist in School as Outsider

This essay examines the institutional commonalities among several schools in which I have worked as a music therapist, illustrating how thinking about my role as an outsider has informed my therapeutic approach. I refer to the broader concept of the outsider as it relates to both fictional and historical figures and in particular to Sherly Williams's article 'The Therapist as Outsider: The Truth of the Stranger' (1999) in which she compares the therapist to the archetypal figures of the fool and the seer. Finally, I link these ideas to Winnicott's concept of play, presenting the music therapist's role in school as that of an advocate for fostering creative impulses, which can at times be at odds with (or perhaps complementary to) the central educational aims of the school

Der Gegenübertragungstraum – oder: Das Ping-Pong-Spiel der beiderseitigen Unbewussten

In einem Brief an Freud hatte Lou Andreas-Salomé wegen des ihr unverständlichen Stillstands einer Analyse um Rat gefragt. Freud antwortete: >>Was man nicht deklinieren kann, das sehe man als - Übertragung an<< (Freud und Andreas-Salomé, 1966/1980, S.  133, Brief vom 23.3.1923). Er variiert damit die alte Grammatikregel: Was man nicht deklinieren kann, das sehe man als ein Neutrum an. Es handelt sich um keine feste grammatische Gesetzmäßigkeit wie >>Alle Substantiva mit der Endung -um sind Neutra<<, sondern um eine mehr pragmatische Regel zum Einsortieren. Diese Äußerung mag belegen, wie Freud die Übertragung auffasste: nicht als etwas faktisch Gegebenes, sondern als etwas zu Unterstellendes und - vor allem modischen Konstruktivismus - in der Analyse zu >>Konstruierendes<< (vgl. Freud, 1937d). Es ist nützlich, sich immer wieder Stellen wie diese in Freuds Schriften vor Augen zu halten, um nicht dem verbreiteten trügerischen Begriffsrealismus zu verfallen: Wenn es das Wort gibt (Übertragung, Ödipuskomplex oder was auch immer), dann gibt es auch den damit bezeichneten Sachverhalt

Navigating the relational psychic economy of disability: The case of M

This paper presents a theoretically-informed psychosocial analysis of the case of M, a physically disabled man from South Africa. We use M’s account as a platform from which to consider projection, melancholic suspension and grief, as these are played out in the negotiation of dependency in relationships for disabled people. Making use of a case study methodology, we examine the various strategies through which M manages those disability stereotypes which are ascribed to him, creating a picture of how ident ity is negotiated in the face of interpersonal dependency as well as disablist prejudice. A central proposition is that, for M, upholding relationships which bring much - needed assistance means caring for the emotional lives of his carers, in a manner which leaves him more vulnerable to internalizing identity insults, and less able to resist his own oppression. Employing a psychoanalytic frame, we suggest that the ‘melancholic suspension’ which some disabled people may be subject to, may lead to the necessity to ‘take on’ certain projections, in the process of accessing much-needed care. As shall be seen, M maneuvers creatively through this relational realm by engaging in trade-offs between positive identity and physical need, employing strategies which include self-deprecation, the performance of mastery, playing with gender, and humor. With these and other techniques, he navigates the relational and psychic economy of his dependency