Une analyse avec S. Freud : A.B., le jeune homme au fétiche

Abstract

ContextIn the prospect of a theoretical and clinical revisiting of mostly unknown cases of S. Freud, the authors explore that of Carl Liebman, nicknamed “A. B.”. This patient appears anonymously in Freud's 1927 article devoted to fetishism. In France, he has been the subject of some studies that did not fully restitute this unusual clinical situation. ObjectivesThe aim of this research is twofold: on the one hand, to fully reconstruct this original case and, on the other hand, to identify interpretations of transference dynamics as well as theoretical overtures that could resonate with a more current clinical field. MethodBy relying on various sources and in particular on original material from the S. Freud archives available at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., this article focuses on the reconstruction of Carl Liebman's analysis with Freud and of his fate, particularly in psychiatry. ResultsThe analysis of the case makes it possible to identify the impasses to which Carl's various analytical and psychiatric treatments led, and to understand the elements inherent in the patient's functioning that contribute to the repetition of these patterns. ConclusionWe propose some new perspectives on the impasse that Carl would have experienced within his own adolescent process, especially since it was not heard or analyzed as such by the various therapists.