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Editor's Note: The West Coast Psychoanalytic Societies met in San Francisco, October 14-16, 1966. Transcribing the tapes of this three-hour workshop was especially complicated at the points where several people enthusiastically spoke simultaneously. Some “unclaimed” comments yet remain.
In the interest of preserving the spirit and tenor of the meeting, we have retained these comments, attributed them to Dr. A. (for Anonymous, that prolific writer), and limited the extensive editing only to that necessary to transpose extemporaneously-spoken words into meaningful written ones. Each participant approved the editing of his comments. Comments added by participants subsequent to the workshop appear as footnotes.
DR. BOYER: Dr. Giovacchini will open the discussion with a brief résumé of the anatomy of regression and then will speak about some technical aspects of the handling of regression. From that point, we will have a discussion based on our own group's theoretical thinking and technical experiences. If we decide to branch out from this subject, we can do so.
DR. GIOVACCHINI: Regression is an interesting topic, for it is a universally encountered phenomenon. I would like to hear the opinions of the participants: How do you assess regression? Do you think of it as good or bad for psychoanalytic treatment? Under what circumstances? What special features of the regressive process are relevant to therapeutic resolution?
My special interest is with the bearing of the regressed state upon the psychoanalytic treatment of a variety of conditions, such as psychotic or characterological disorders, that have from time to time been thought of as inaccessible to analysis.
To start, we can consider regression in terms of two specific categories: 1. The anatomy of regression: 2. Is regression useful or disruptive therapeutically?
I use the term “anatomy of regression” simply to ask, “What does one mean by regression?”
In 1900, Freud wrote about regression from three different viewpoints. S