How Did It Happen? Writing—A Royal Road to Becoming/Being an Analyst (Through the Lens of Complexity Theory)

Abstract

ABSTRACTThrough the theoretical lens of self psychology and complexity theory, the author illuminates how it happened that writing, and the professional opportunities that emerged because she was an analytic writer, became the royal road to the creation of her sense of being, mostly, a competent analyst after analytic training that left her feeling insecure and inadequate. Then, she describes recent work with a patient, Tom, to open a window into her consulting room and illuminate herself as an analyst at work.