American Journal of Psychoanalysis最新文献

This paper explores how the allure of magical thinking and groupthink contrasts with intuition of emotional truth. Since truth can terrify, the author suggests that a longer learning curve is needed to apprehend what Bion (1970a) called the "evolving O" of the analytic session. Traumatized patients are described as dream weavers who spin webs of partial truths and lies around their true selves. For the analyst, untangling these webs involves what Bion (1970b) calls an "act of faith." Clinical material is presented to show how groupthink and other concretions of thought can, under favorable circumstances, be transformed on the wings of psychic truth. Alternatively, uncontained violent emotions can become calcified, creating a carapace over the chrysalis of the patient's true self. The author concludes that the analyst's desire for a particular treatment outcome can unwittingly lead to the formation of an adhesive web where healthy analytic culture becomes a cult. Paradoxically, it is only when there is equal attention to emotional truth and lies that a trajectory of growth is likely to evolve.

The paper explores the concept of truth in Bion's theory and in the post-Bionian context of the analytic field. Truth is addressed on three levels: epistemological, metapsychological, and clinical. Bion criticizes positivism in psychoanalysis, and the same vertex when it appears in psychoanalysis itself, stating that the search for truth at all costs is similar to the arrogance and stupidity of the psychotic part of the personality. He revolutionizes the analytic concept of truth by orienting it to the function of the emotional linking between analyst and patient rather than to content. Post-Bionian analytic theory further develops these concepts. In a field or radically intersubjective perspective, the author emphasizes the shift from an "I/you" perspective to a "we" perspective. The treatment is less about the abstract search for supposed truths and more about the truth being expressed in the process of emotional and affective attunement.

What if the author were to position herself as a liar? Not of conscious lying, but an ignorance of what is so close to our collective noses that as psychoanalysts we miss it. Drawing on Harari's (2011) description of liberal ideology, the author suggests that our contemporary psychoanalytic focus on feelings, countertransference, and intuition is more determined by our cultural era than generally recognized. It is suggested that prevailing ideology may at times serve a defensive function. The author discusses a 1970s clinical seminar in which Bion observes that the presenting analyst's attention to feelings is "excusing" the patient (and himself). A second example, from Bion's Cogitations (1991), underscores the complexity of being sensitive to a patient's feelings without gratifying narcissistic demands. A final example is taken from the author's work in which there was a pressure to allow the patient's infantile feelings to determine the analysis. It was subsequently recognized that neither the patient's feelings nor the analyst's understanding were the site of authority in the analysis. Rather, authority lies in the analytic process itself.

In this thought-provoking exploration, the author examines Grotstein's seminal work, "The Seventh Servant: The Implications of a Truth Drive in Bion's Theory of 'O'" (2004), and its relevance to the psychoanalytic concepts of truth and lies. Drawing on Bion's K-link and Klein's epistemophilia, the paper argues that Grotstein's concept of a "truth drive" is part of a transformative paradigmatic shift in psychoanalysis, emphasizing a focus on ontology and the process of being with the analysand. The commitment to truth in psychoanalytic practice demands ongoing examination, open-mindedness, and a willingness to embrace bodily sensations, proto-emotions, and new thoughts. Grotstein proposes that the truth drive is a universal human force that compels individuals towards emotional growth and explains why analysands can accept the analyst's interpretation of painful psychical realities. The intersection between curiosity and evolving 'O' exceeds epistemophilia, bridging knowledge and the unknown for optimal truth-seeking. The paper briefly explores the connections between Heidegger's "Dasein," "Aletheia," and Foucault's "Parrhesia," further supporting Grotstein's discovery. Additionally, it addresses the challenge of distinguishing healthy truth pursuit from pathological manifestations and presents a captivating clinical vignette illustrating Grotstein's response to this question. Finally, the paper delves into Bion's puzzling observation that all thoughts as ordinarily known are lies, augmenting the notion of universal emotional truth and its complexities in the clinical context.