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The International Journal of Psycho-analysis, Volume 67, Part 4, 1986
Psychological discoveries of a certain kind give rise to a particular sense of shock. When we are forced to look afresh at something whose importance we think we already know, we may find it has new and unexpected significance. Our previous understanding, genuine as it was, comes to seem rather shallow.
Psychoanalysts must be open to such experiences, and I illustrate this with episodes from the history of psychoanalysis and with clinical examples. ‘What really matters about this analysis?’ is a question to which patient and analyst must each seek an answer, and both must allow it to take them by surprise. There is a parallel between the patient's need to give up his established ways of coping and the analyst's need not to cling on to his familiar ways of understanding.
The paradox of non-attachment is that our understanding can only develop if we are not anxious to hold on to it. I relate this clinical observation to the idea of non-attachment as found in spiritual tradition, and I draw on the work of Bion and Matte Blanco to locate these ideas within psychoanalytic theory.
The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, Volume 67, Part 4, 1986
This paper suggests that literature concerning projective identification has excessively focused on the projection of unwanted aspects of the self without giving adequate consideration to projective identification involving good qualities. It is proposed that clinical advantages may derive from dividing projective identification into positive and negative components. This division allows a more ready emphasis on the capacity for beneficial object relations which even psychotic individuals retain despite their obvious hostility. Case vignettes are provided to demonstrate positive projective identification and to emphasi