When the Analyst Dies: Dealing With the Aftermath

Abstract

The body of literature on the theme of illness and death among analysts is surprisingly small, considering the frequency with which patients experience such incidents during an analysis, and the amount of suffering and/or iatrogenic injury that may ensue. In the bulk of this literature patients' experiences of losing an analyst are treated in a descriptive way, mostly through personal reports. To move clinical thinking about this topic somewhat further, the implications for the patient when the analysis is interrupted are explored; in particular, a distinction is made between the loss of the person of the analyst as an incident on the reality level that needs to be mourned as such, and losing the analysis, the unique form of dialogue implied by the principle of free association. Consequences of the loss of this dialogue are analyzed with regard to the challenges it poses for clinicians called on to deal with the aftermath. Preventive measures within the analytic work can soften the impact of potential loss, as can the contribution of analytic institutions to dealing with the ensuing problems.