Summary Page, Issue 4, 2021

Bion’s epistemological contributions drew on the work of the British philosopher of science, R. B. Braithwaite, more than has hitherto been acknowledged, argues Barnet Malin. Bion’s goal to bring an empirically based scientific model to psychoanalytic theory and practice was heavily influenced by Braithwaite’s “scientific deductive system” - the notion that empirical scientific methods can be applied to “unconscious mental processes.” Bion’s turn from the scientific deductive system towards his later developments can be understood in this context.

Examining the poor integration of soma and psyche in severely disturbed patients, Sebastian Leikert formulates the concept of “encapsulated body engrams” to refer to the defence structures revolving around the disorganization and inhibition of an affected bodily impulse. These engrams are highly repetitive and not susceptible to symbolic transformation. Leikert looks at how the engrams can be unblocked in analysis through body feelings which emerge in the chain of associations as attempts to communicate.

Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis

Psychosis remains a challenging area to treat in psychoanalysis, writes Vincent di Rocco and Raphaël Minjard. Drawing on Green’s and Roussillon’s ideas about processes of symbolization, Di Rocco argues for the need to symbolize the difficulty of symbolization in the therapeutic work with psychotic adolescents. The work of construction of meaning and the recognition of desymbolisation are equally important for the establishment of the therapeutic relationship with these patients.

History of Psychoanalysis

Gonzalo Grau Perez's and Guillermo Milán's paper examines the reception of Lacanian ideas in Uruguayan psychoanalysis in the 1960s - at a time when Kleinian thought prevailed. Examining a variety of sources - theoretical papers, clinical cases, media publications, seminar transcripts and institutional documents - the authors look at the different controversi