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How many times have I sat with a patient in confusion and whispered to myself, “Something powerful is going on here. But what?” In such a clinical moment of uncertainty, without time to explore my confused intuition, I am nevertheless reminded that my inner world and my relational worlds are more complex than I generally allow. And, so, I then say to myself, as Hamlet says to Horatio: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” In current psychoanalytic parlance, this translates to, “There are more self-states here than meet the eye.” This thought helps me to register and contain my confusion and wait, knowing, at the same time, that I must not reduce or simplify the experience. Over the years I’ve found that writing facilitates understanding; and when I write about confusing clinical moments, often knots loosen and dissolve, new inner voices and relational connections reveal themselves and clarity emerges. The process often feels uncanny.
Amanda Kottler’s wonderful paper is an attempt to capture and describe the depth and meaning of her own uncanny emotional experience, which also occurs while she is writing. Amanda suggests that writing about specific events from a subjective perspective—and with stern honesty—may uncover an expansive inner voice and create increased emotional understanding. Isobel!
In reflecting on her uncanny experience Amanda also posits that multiple self-states, some known and others unknown, are key to understanding the sudden appearance of Isobel, an unbidden presence and the symbolic focus of her paper. Isobel probably embodies a sequestered self-state, whose appearance represents a process beyond Amanda’s philosophies or theories or conscious understanding.
Amanda finds a powerful, agentic woman in her discovery and description of Isobel, “a mysterious and otherworldly presence,” who enters Amanda’s narrative at moments of claustrophobia, despair, and helplessness, moments cued by a disappoint