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(The analyst will be anonymous in this presentation)
(The analyst is a woman in her 50’s. English is not her native language, although she is fluent in English and practices in English.)
History:
J is a successful performance artist and he currently works for a media company. He is 39, and has been married for seven months to M whom he had been dating for the past five years. He has been in analysis for five years and comes four times weekly and uses the couch.
J was previously in a long-term dynamic psychotherapy in his early twenties. Despite being helpful, this work led to a confusing experience when his therapist became gravely ill. They became “friends,” encouraged by her perceived and experienced neediness. This resulted in the therapist shifting her clinical role and crossing boundaries at times. After a year of “friendship” J became suicidal. At this point she encouraged him to find another therapist.
He started in another therapy with an analyst who J thought might be interested in him other than as a patient as well. This treatment lasted nine months. He left the treatment with the excuse that he was going to be away, working in another country.
Soon after he asked for individual treatment with me, fearing he would lose his job. After our work began, he was told by his boss that his heart was not in his work and they let him go. He was very upset and didn’t understand why this had happened when he worked so very hard to please everybody.
J is the older of two siblings. He initially described himself as a “trust fund kid.” He was academically successful and competitive. He was, and continues to be, very envious of others, with whom he compares himself and he sees himself as inferior. He struggles with his belief that having money and prestige would be the panacea for his feelings of being “less than, and inadequate.” He also thinks that having money will keep those he depends on from leaving him.
His younger sister appears to have been molested by a babysitter whil