I sensi e l'inconscio [Truth and the unconscious in psychoanalysis] by Giuseppe Civitarese

It is appropriate and at the same time reductive to say that Giuseppe Civitarese's latest book is about psychoanalysis. True on the one hand, since it is a book which deals with psychoanalysis in that – both from a theoretical

viewpoint and in the consulting room – it presents the field model in a fertile coupling with the thinking of Bion; reductive on the other hand, in that artistic and philosophical thoughts and images are frequently grafted into its fabric, constantly broadening the discussion. So this is a book which shows ‘in action’ Bion's idea that there is a transference between ideas and not just between human beings.

The fundamental characteristic of man as protagonist in Civitarese's reflections is that of possessing a mind and being self‐aware, which obliges him to equip himself with an instrument that will enable him to absorb, metabolize and transform instincts and external stimuli into thought. The analytic situation is the place where the small or large holes in this function are probed in vivo by the analytic couple in an attempt to create a narrative with meaning.

There is always a precarious equilibrium in the mind of man between a vital impulse to search, which constantly leads him to call himself into question, and a need for the continuity that is given by fixed points of reference.

The search for this difficult equilibrium has an inevitable impact on the way in which Civitarese understands the analytic journey and its goal. The objective of the analytic journey is no longer that of deciphering the unconscious, but of expanding it, increasing the capacity of the couple to tolerate ambiguity and its creative richness, and of dreaming together.