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In the midst of the COVID epidemic, PINC invited Hayuta Gurevich to be the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California's (PINC) International Visiting Scholar for Spring 2021. Having her join us virtually to speak about presence and absence during a time of such loss was especially profound. All of our events were on Zoom including this interview — a different kind of absence.
Sitting in her office in Tel Aviv filled with psychoanalytic journals, Gurevich was engaged and clear. She embodied stillness, directness, and reserve while simultaneously creating a sense of warmth and welcoming. I was particularly interested in understanding her ideas that were initially presented in her seminal paper, “The Language of Absence” and that she has continued to expand in her current papers. (See her more recent paper in fort da, 2015.)
Engaged in the work of Ferenczi and Winnicott, Gurevich expands the notion of how and on what register one needs to be in contact with a patient. Her work focuses on early trauma and how, in response to that trauma, the patient “identifies with the aggressor,” in the words of Ferenczi, or becomes a false self, in the words of Winnicott. She focuses on early fragmentation and dissociation and what happens over time without a good enough environment. As a result of this early trauma, the personality is fundamentally dissociated and shaped by the trauma. Unlike Kleinian theory, she believes splitting and paranoia are secondary, while divorce from the self is primary. In her clinical work, a sense of caring and hope slowly creates room for the patient to find and free themselves in the company of the analyst.
RC: Hayuta, this is a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know you. We are interested in hearing your stories and have you explore and