Desire, Collusion and Power: Some Ethical Difficulties in Practice

This paper aims to open up discussion about boundary breaches in analysis; actions that might be seen as forms of abuse or coercion by therapists. These involve sexual acting out, and as we argue and as Jung put it, “… domination by collusion and with power.” (CW, Vol 16, para. 360). We use a number of relevant theoretical lenses, including the “Anonymous Paper”, and “Susan Jones”. Also, Austin, Gabbard, Celenza, Cooper, Schaverien, Galipeau & Zeavin, whose ideas and examples helped us understand how analytic boundaries can become distorted. This is when the ethical temenos is breached by collusion, conscious or unconscious, between the needs of the patient and analyst. Our vignettes and two case studies are based on anonymised examples of analysts transgressing ethical boundaries and both involve falling under shadow influences. We conclude that aggressive and eroticised fantasies which operate between analyst and patient can be used in clinical work if the analyst recognises them, can access them through their countertransference, and, in turn, interpret them for the patient. Then, the patient can recognise and constructively use these transferential dynamics themselves. If not, they may become hidden or ‘Cloaked’ as we have named it.