Trauma as counter-revolutionary colonisation: narratives from (post)revolutionary Egypt

We argue that multiple levels of trauma were present in Egypt before, during and after the 2011 revolution. Individual, social and political trauma constitute a triangle of traumatisation which was strategically employed by the Egyptian counter-revolutionary forces – primarily the army and the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood – to maintain their political and economic power over and above the social, economic and political interests of others. Through the destruction of physical bodies, the fragmentation and polarisation of social relations and the violent closure of the newly emerged political public sphere, these actors actively repressed the potential for creative and revolutionary transformation. To better understand this multi-layered notion of trauma, we turn to Habermas’ ‘colonisation of the lifeworld’ thesis which offers a critical lens through which to examine the wider political and economic structures and context in which trauma occurred as well as its effects on the personal, social and political realms. In doing so, we develop a novel conception of trauma that acknowledges individual, social and political dimensions. We apply this conceptual framing to empirical narratives of trauma in Egypt’s pre- and post-revolutionary phases, thus both developing a non-Western application of Habermas’ framework and revealing ethnographic accounts of the revolution by activists in Cairo

‘Not dead … abandoned’ – a clinical case study of childhood and combat-related trauma

This clinical case study examines inter-subjective processes with a counselling client who presented with symptoms of complex trauma including severe anxiety, low mood, dissociation and suicidality. Therapy lasted 12 months and the ending was unplanned. Psychoanalytic and phenomenological hermeneutic frameworks are drawn on in theorizing the work. From this perspective, loss associated with trauma is conceptualized as relational, as traumatic states threaten psychological organization and the continuing experience of relational ties that are needed for survival. Dissociation is understood as a defensive state that changes the way that temporality is experienced. The client’s capacity for dissociation appeared to have developed in early childhood in response to physical abuse, predisposing him to further ongoing and severe trauma as an adult soldier. There will be a focus on the way that dissociation and enactment in the therapeutic relationship limited the therapist’s capacity to provide the client with inter-subjective regulation of disavowed affect. The client’s unconscious experience of unbearable affect led to a breakdown of the therapeutic relationship and the termination of therapy. Detailed session and supervision notes, and correspondence received from the client were used to evaluate theory and practice links, as well as some methodological aspects of case study research

Social Media and its Impact on Therapeutic Relationships

In the current age of social media, the boundaries between the online and the offline, the personal and the professional, have become blurred and ambiguous. This poses significant challenges to the practice of psychoanalysis, which for a long time has been thought of as a technology‐free and private space. This paper compares how social media impacts therapeutic relationships in the broader field of psychotherapy and in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in particular. Direct breaches in therapist privacy were found to be more frequent with non‐psychoanalytic psychotherapists due to therapists’ higher online presence. Psychoanalytic psychotherapists, on the other hand, generally have a lesser online presence because of different views on therapeutic anonymity from other clinical orientations. The author suggests that this leads to different forms of virtual impingements: due to the absence of psychoanalytic therapists’ online presence, patients seek to re‐create therapists (and, by extension, therapeutic situations) on a virtual level rather than discover something that was already ‘put out there’ by therapists. Virtual manifestations of anonymity, splitting, and solipsistic introjection processes are discussed with reference to John Suler's concept of the online disinhibition effect. Further recommendations for research on social media impact are discussed

Parallel processes:Getting it write?

This paper offers a critical reflection on the processes surrounding the writing of a book aimed at foster carers and residential workers. By utilising the concept of parallel process as well as the four modes of reflection identified by Ruch (2000), we explore the ways in which the wider context of both direct works with children and reflective practice have been impacted by the tensions between relationally based, child-centred practice and wider managerialist imperatives. The paper draws parallels between these practice tensions and those currently in play within the academy. By employing a dialogical and reflective analysis of the process and interactions surrounding the writing of a practitioner-targeted book, the paper demonstrates the ways in which critical and process reflection post-event took place, considering the heretofore unexplored parallel processes between writing for practice, and practice. In so doing, it identifies the ways in which the authors mirrored practitioners in relation to the management of anxiety, a sense of constrained autonomy and confidence, and an avoidance of recognising and challenging structural and political context. Implications for the creation of practice literature and for the academy are considered.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

A case study of a mother's intertwining experiences with incest and postpartum depression

The association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and major depression disorder (MDD) gives reason to suspect that many mothers with postpartum depression (PPD) have a history of CSA. However, few studies have investigated how CSA and PPD are related. In this case study we explore how the experience of incest intertwines with the experience of postpartum depression. We focus on participant subject “Nina,” who has experienced both. We interviewed her three times and we analysed the interviews with Giorgi's phenomenological descriptive method to arrive at a contextualised meaning structure. Nina's intruding fantasies of men who abuse her children merge with her recollections of her own incest experiences. She may succeed in forcing these fantasies out of her consciousness, but they still alter her perceptions, thoughts, and emotions. She feels overwhelmed and succumbs to sadness, while she also is drawn towards information about CSA, which in turn feeds her fantasies. The psychodynamic concepts of repetition compulsion, transference, and projection may provide some explanation of Nina's actions, thoughts, and emotions through her past experiences. With our phenomenological stance, we aim to acknowledge Nina's descriptions of her everyday life here and now. With reference to Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Minkowski, we show that Nina's past is not a dated memory; rather it determines the structure of her consciousness that constitutes her past as her true present and future. Incest dominates Nina's world, and her possibilities for action are restricted by this perceived world. Any suspension of action implies anguish, and she resolves this by incest-structured action that in turn feeds and colours her expectations. Thus anxiety and depression are intertwined in the structure of this experience

Humanistic psychotherapy research 1990-2015 : from methodological innovation to evidence-supported treatment outcomes and beyond

Over the past twenty five years, humanistic psychotherapy (HP) researchers have actively contributed to the development and implementation of innovative practice-informed research measures and coding systems. Qualitative and quantitative research findings, including meta-analyses, support the identification of HP approaches as evidence-based treatments for a variety of psychological conditions. Implications for future psychotherapy research, training and practice are discussed in terms of addressing the persistent disjunction between significant HP research productivity and relatively low support for HP approaches in university-based clinical training programs, funding agencies and government-supported clinical guidelines. Finally, specific recommendations are provided to further enhance and expand the impact of humanistic psychotherapy research for clinical training programs and the development of treatment guidelines

An Integrative-Relational Approach in Schizophrenia: From Philosophical Principles to Mentalization-Based Practice

In this paper, we explore psychosis and schizophrenia as prototype disturbances, where mentalizing failures are widely seen. We attempt to describe how the process of rekindling mentalizing within attachment relationships (here, the patient-therapist relationship) can have a protective effect not just on the onset of the disturbance, but also when psychosis is already actively installed. We start by discussing mentalizing in training, practice and supervision. We also try to understand it contextually, as a relational concept, within the history of psychological therapies