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How often we encounter the following plea from our patients: “Save me from—my parents, my siblings, my boss, my past, and especially—from myself.” Of course, the sophisticated analysand never states his or her wish so boldly. Nevertheless, this message is communicated over and over again during therapy.
This article addresses the question of why redemption has remained a covert issue in therapy. It also focuses on how redemption can be conceptualized on three diverse levels. I maintain that redemption has been assiduously avoided because of its religious connotations. Images of the Salvation Army rounding up sinners or of Machiavellian Elmer Gantrys mesmerizing their flocks are often associated with redemption.
Yet, as analysts, we are faced with themes of redemption and transformation every day. Indeed many of us entered the field with conscious or unconscious thoughts of rescuing others. Volkan (1985) provided a moving autobiographical account of this motive in his work as an analyst. Seidenberg (1970) began his provocative article by stating, “Jesus saves, and we wish to identify with Him. Few of us can save lives, but we all at some time or another try to save souls” (p. 331).
In therapy, the focus of redemption is shifted from a belief in an other-worldly messianic vision to the patient's exercise of will and effort in concert with the analyst. Whereas religious and historical world views focus on the “great individual” or charismatic leader who saves his people (most notably, Christ, Moses, and Mohamet), the early psychoanalytic movement emphasized the individual who is saved from parental tyranny and self-deception by becoming autonomous (e.g., Fenichel, 1945; Waelder, 1960; Greenson, 1967).