The Meaning of Resilience as a Psychoanalytic Concept: An exploratory Study of the Perspectives of Training and Supervising Psychoanalysts

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate how psychoanalysts perceive the concept of resilience and how it can be applied in this field. Method Exploratory qualitative research was undertaken with a sampleof 10 training and supervising psychoanalysts belonging to a psychoanalytic institution in southern Brazil. A semi‐structured interview was used to collect the data. Results Based on the material collected, the following final four categories were established: (1) the evident complexity of the origin andconceptual definition of resilience; (2) the technical potential ofresilience: communication and effects from a psychoanalytical perspective; (3) the life stories and difficulties of resilient beings: conditions, characteristics and development; and (4) the association between the clinical aspects of trauma and a subject's resources – resilience under discussion. Conclusions The origin of the phenomenon of resilience opens up important questions and reflections for psychoanalysts even though the term's technical potential for the psychoanalytic clinic is recognized and serves as an important prognostic factor. Resilience relates to personality and resources of the ego, and this fact would seem to suggest the need for further study into the aetiological equation. It can be defined as the ability to elaborate on one's experiences.