Psychoanalytic Orientation Research Articles

Counselors’ theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women

AbstractThe current study examined the relationship between theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women among professional counselors. Counselors currently meeting clients were recruited from professional counseling organizations, and the responses from 265 counselors were analyzed using structural equation models. Results indicated that a stronger psychoanalytic orientation predicted lesser competencies in counseling women, while stronger humanistic, feminist, and multicultural orientations predicted higher competencies in counseling women. The study highlights the need for counselors to integrate theoretical orientations with social justice perspectives to better serve women.

Temporality—Variations on a Theme of Hans Loewald: An Introduction to a Relational Panel

This paper introduces a panel on temporality in the work of Hans Loewald, presented at an IARPP conference in 2022. The presenters highlight Loewald’s idea that the experience of time shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world. Each author applies Loewald’s notion of temporality to clinical material: Cheryl Goldstein uses the image of a “rift” in our relationship to time in her treatment of a young woman unable to bear the guilt of separating from a depressive mother. Shoulamit Milch Reich and Amir Atsmon present the case of a traumatized young boy unable to integrate, or link, the dimensions of past, present, and future, resulting in fragmentation and psychic collapse. Robin Young and Gila Ofer each explore gender development through a Loewaldian lens in which regressive wishes can safely emerge in treatment and ego development resume. Implicit in these presentations is the seminal influence of Loewald on clinical work and his integrative appeal across psychoanalytic orientations.

Música e psicanálise: uma abordagem para os processos criativos e suas dimensões inconscientes

This paper presents an approach for songwriting from a Lacanian psychoanalysis’ perspec-tive based on an ongoing master's degree research. The departure point is related the rele-vance of the unconscious processes already highlighted in musical cognition research. The research establishes a conversation between these two fields – psychoanalysis and cognition – to, subsequently, address methods and theories that enable a deeper understanding of the different relevant issues on creative process in songwriting. Introducing a brief literature re-view and proposing the use of methods such as memorial and genetic criticism. Finally, we present the initial steps towards a methodology for approaching the creative process in music with psychoanalytic orientation, based on the analysis of drafts and personal reports in free association.

Un court-métrage sur le harcèlement scolaire : usage de la vidéo comme outil thérapeutique pour un adolescent autiste

ObjectivesThe therapeutic proposal of a video-making workshop demonstrates the relevance of video as a tool for accompanying autistic people in their understanding of situations of harassment and in alleviating the traumatic weight of this experience. The short film has also been the subject of preventive action within schools for young autistic people. MethodA group of four autistic teenagers received in a medico-social service participated in the production of a short film on school bullying. The teenagers created the scenario with the support of three professionals. The case of Jaouen makes it possible to deploy clinical observations and therapeutic support oriented by Lacanian psychoanalysis. ResultsKnowledge of bullying situations was built through the scenes shot and viewed during the workshop. In addition, the traumatic aspect of bullying and the link to others and to language have changed for Jaouen, facilitating his inclusion in his school. DiscussionThe Lacanian psychoanalytical orientation made it possible to accompany Jaouen towards the construction of a living body, supported by a gradual letting go of his instinctual objects (voice and gaze) and by the support of a double. Learning about bullying is a first step, but there also needs to be a subjective effect to truly support the young person in his relationships with others. ConclusionSituations of school bullying require the collaboration of the various partners around young autistic people and their parents, but also a place of personal address welcoming the singular inventions of autistic people to reduce their anxieties.

Erotic Feelings Towards Patients in the Psychotherapy Session: Investigating Their Relationship With the Characteristics of the Therapist, the Patient, and the Treatment.

Experiencing erotic feelings towards a patient is a fairly common occurrence, not pathological per se, during phases of psychotherapy. This study aims to analyze associations between, on the one hand, the presence in therapists of romantic attraction (RA), sexual attraction (SA), or flirting behavior (FB) toward patients and, on the other hand, a series of characteristics of therapist, patient, and treatment. Between April and June 2022, 547 psychotherapists completed an online survey investigating their affective and behavioral responses toward their most recently treated patient. Compared to female therapists, males showed significantly higher prevalence of SA alone (p < .001) or in combination with RA (p < .01), FB (p < .01), or both (p < .05). Multivariate adjusted regression models showed that RA was associated with patient age ≤40 years (OR:39.49 for age 18-29; OR:28.44 for age 30-39), male sex (OR:10.40), and diagnosis of mood disorder (OR:14.08). Furthermore, RA was associated with intense countertransference feelings of tenderness towards the patient (OR:79.77) and hostility towards significant figures in their life (OR: 77.93). SA was associated with the therapist's male sex/gender (OR: 16.14), psychoanalytic orientation (OR:13.34), post-license experience ≤20 years (OR:6.12 for 1-9 years; OR:6.08 for 10-19 years). Lastly, FB was associated with the therapist's male sex/gender (OR:16.94).

Le modèle théorico-clinique : apports et intérêts pour la recherche en psychologie clinique

ObjectiveThis article proposes some innovative approaches to a research model in clinical psychology with a psychoanalytical orientation that the authors call the theoretical-clinical model. This model makes it possible to respond to the impasses in the current methodological field to thinking and doing scientific research based on clinical practice. MethodAfter briefly mentioning the specificities and originalities of research in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis, and the scientific research models that currently prevail, the article presents the organizing principles of the so-called clinical-theoretical model. A final section focuses on the work of writing as a process of decentration that allows for the differentiation between research specific to clinical practice and scientific research in clinical psychology. ResultsThe theoretical-clinical model proposes to renounce the forging of precise hypotheses upstream of the research. It is a model that refers to and responds to the principles of psychoanalytic epistemology. The research is centered on the permanent articulation between theory and clinical practice, which refers to the idea of allowing oneself to be immersed in, and questioned by, the clinical material without too strong a hypothesis, at the risk of being blinded by the material that emerges. The hypothesis thus emerges from practice, from the material, and from the writing process. Contrary to the model of anchored theory, analysis is not a-theoretical: on the contrary, it asserts a theoretical anchoring that makes the material “speak” from the hypotheses and postulates of the discipline, in this case psychoanalysis. DiscussionResearch in psychology is crossed by two major models: the hypothetico-deductive and the grounded theory method. Recently, two researchers have proposed a more specific model for research in psychoanalytically oriented clinical psychology: the hypothetico-processual model. In the continuity of this work, we suggest another way of thinking and doing research in clinical psychology. ConclusionThe scientificity of psychoanalysis is strongly contested today, often in a very hasty and unscientific way. It is therefore necessary to find methodological tools that meet certain scientific criteria without losing sight of the originality and specificity of psychoanalytic clinical practice.

Louis XI était-il paranoïaque ?

ObjectivesClérambault issued the diagnosis that King Louis XI (1423–1483) was paranoid. The objective of this article is to enumerate the various elements that make it possible to question this “diagnosis”. MethodAfter reviewing the psychiatric literature about the “case” of Louis XI, we consulted historians, and then, considering all of this research, we highlight the king's pathological sense of “distrust” which we then analyze in the light of psychopathology and psychoanalytical orientation. ResultsKing Louis XI was nicknamed “the most suspicious man ever”. Beyond this characterized distrust, he also seems to have manifested a persecution complex and hypochondriac concerns. As far as the diagnosis of “paranoia” is concerned, – a non-triggered, non-deviant paranoia seems to us to be appropriate, especially in view of Clérambault's conception of it. DiscussionThe main discussion is related to the notion of “mistrust” in psychopathology, and the role it can play as a “successful defense” in paranoia. ConclusionGiven that there is a certain consensus – among psychiatric references, but also among historians – it is very likely that Louis XI presented a form of paranoia, with ideas of persecution, tyranny, cruelty, thirst for power, and hypochondriac concerns, All in a sense “contained” by an extreme distrust which seems to have sheltered him from a systematized delirium.

Modernity from Elsewhere: Psychoanalysis, Ethnography, and Speculative Horizons of Self-Assertion

Modernity from Elsewhere: Psychoanalysis, Ethnography, and Speculative Horizons of Self-Assertion

Considering the Intersubjective Perspective of Therapeutic Action

The concept of therapeutic action among most schools of psychoanalysis has solidly progressed from the original Freudian catharsis-insight model to an intersubjective-insight perspective. This article will focus on the re-conceptualizations of therapeutic action that have evolved over the past 80 years in interpersonal psychoanalysis and among many other psychoanalytic orientations. A clinical example will follow to illustrate an intersubjective-insight model of therapeutic action.

Russian Historiosophy of the ХXth Century in the Context of the Tradition of the Moral and Psychological Novel by F. Dostoevsky

The article is devoted to the study of the specifics of the receptive influence of the moral and psychological novel by F. Dostoevskys on the development of the Russian historiosophical novel of the XXth century. The relevance of the problem is in the identification of an ideological dominant connected with the key problems associated with the moral attitudes of Dostoevsky's novelistics. The novelty of this study lies in considering, taking into account new ideological assessments of the role and status of a historical person, a historical novel about the narodovoltsy of the 50-60s of the ХХth century. The novels about the narodovoltsy of the 50-60s of ХХth century were chosen as an object of research to reflect the ideological concept of F. Dostoevsky in the receptive field of the searches of the XXth century writers and as a determinant of the moral coordinates of modern phenomena of reality. It is proved that the development of the moral and psychological historical novel in the 60-70s takes place under the strongest influence of the tradition of F. Dostoevsky. The receptive correlation of the genre coordinate system, subjective organization, historiosophical ideologism of the XXth century with the traditions of the moral and psychological historiosophy of Dostoevskys contextual field, on the one hand, forms a new Tynyanov-Forsh tradition, and on the other, develops the traditions of the writer's polyphonic ideological novel on a new level and determines the expansion of the moral polyphonism of the historical novel in its value and psychoanalytic orientation, when the principle of internal ethics begins to dominate the ideological and political fields.

Incalculably Diffusive

Incalculably Diffusive

Assessment of the Therapeutic Evolution of Psychiatric Patients through Rorschach Psychodiagnosis

Abstract The present work aims to constitute an important contribution to the scientific proof of the effectiveness of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic interventions, through the Rorschach test. A clinical sample of 10 psychiatric patients, admitted and followed at the Day Hospital of a psychiatric hospital in the North of Portugal, where the psychoanalytic orientation intervention model is followed. The data were collected in two moments: upon admission, a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and Rorschach's projective proof were applied; after three months of treatment, Rorschach was re-applied, followed by a survey of exclusion criteria and patient evaluation on the therapeutic program.The comparative analysis of the data showed a slight therapeutic evolution and personality functioning.

Victimes du COVID-19 : être ou ne pas être ?

As part of this work, we propose to understand the global epidemic of COVID-19 coronavirus, as a sociobiological phenomenon. To carry out our reflection, we will base ourselves on a psychological listening experience (in a psychoanalytic orientation) conducted during the Nice attacks in 2016, and continued today, during the current pandemic context. More specifically, we will look at the signifier “victim”, including all that it involves as questions about the subject. Our proposal will be to consider the victim status as a crossing. During this one, it is important that the suffering of the subjects is listened to, recognised, judged and compensated. In order for this to happen, everyone can find his own way of giving an answer to the reality of the virus, as it has imposed itself on us; but we will also see that one of the possible conclusions of this crossing consists in going through various forms of sublimation.

La féminité au très grand âge : destin de l’identité sexuée

AimsThe main studies focusing on the developments of femininity exclude the field of very old age. The objective of this work is therefore to identify what forms they may take at this time of life. MethodUsing clinical material from a six-year psychotherapy with a woman in her nineties, we hypothesize that her thoughts, hallucinations, and fantasies could be a path of expression of femininity at the end of life. These sessions were carried out monthly in an institutional context by a psychologist with a psychoanalytical orientation. Remaining desirable when all external objects tend to disappear is undoubtedly one of the main challenges at this stage of life. In order to analyze this clinical material, we use the phenomenological and psychoanalytic paradigm. The first allows us to situate the patient as author and subject of her experience. The second provides an analysis after the fact by means of a Freudo-Lacanian theoretical frame of reference. ResultsArticulating theory and clinical material, we examine the subject's hallucinations and their main mechanisms, along with the related speech acts. This is the manifestation of the subject's desire. We consider the differences between hysterical and psychotic hallucinations, in addition to the roles related to femininity and motherhood. The diverse forms they take are highlighted, clarifying the expression of these identities in old age. DiscussionThese elements can assist in guiding psychotherapeutic care. They also help clinicians to discern what the subject is saying during these psychic manifestations that are frequent at this age. ConclusionBeyond the purely psychological framework, the results of this study call into question policies applied to aging, in particular the objectives of certain intergenerational projects focused mainly on the maternal.

When a child is born to a homo‐parental family, how does the work of differentiation occur?

AbstractThe Taubira law in France has, since 2013, allowed same sex couples to marry and adopt children. This progressive law has created numerous debates in the public arena with passionate arguments which question the potential psychological development of a child in gay and lesbian families. How can a child from same sex parents construct a sense of difference between the generations and sexes in a way that builds psychic structure? The research DEVHOM, centred on the development and socialisation of children, has allowed for a specific study of this question in its use of a qualitative psychoanalytic orientation through individual clinical cases. This paper presents a clinical research encounter with ten‐year‐old Maëla, who was born through gestational surrogacy. The clinical monograph illustrates her creative resources to engage in the work of differentiation, and the ability to understand her place in the family structure in spite of a set of exceptionally complex family relationships. These results demonstrate that in this particular situation, as in other situations, the wellbeing of the child is determined by the quality of the relationships sustained in the family group.

Recherche qualitative en psychanalyse : l’étude du cas de la théorisation ancrée

BackgroundHow can research remain as faithful as possible to the psychoanalytical approach, which proceeds by case study, and at the same time meet the current requirements for scientific validation and publication in clinical psychology? Especially if the project is part of an interdisciplinary context, aiming to bring psychoanalysis – which promotes qualitative analysis – into dialogue with epistemological frameworks that use very different methods such as, for example, quantitative and hypothetical-deductive medicine. Although psychoanalysis was conceived, from its origins, as both a theory of the human psyche and as a therapeutic method seeking to validate its foundations – the hypothesis of the unconscious, analysis and interpretation of the transference on the analyst –, its endogenous validation criteria remain insufficient, from the point of view of research in the human and social sciences where the psychologist-researcher situates her/himself. Even if a translation of the results is possible, a methodology that guarantees objective results accepted by a larger scientific community is required. Our study, wishing to better understand the psychological effects of cancer in adolescence and early adulthood on romantic life and sexuality, had to consider these epistemological concerns. Conceived from its origin in a dual culture – that of medical care and clinical psychology with an analytical orientation –, it led us to use the qualitative methodology of Grounded theory (GT). Our paper aims to show that the use of GT ensures scientific rigor while maintaining the essentials of the psychoanalytical method and process – applied, in this context, to the collection and analysis of data, and to the way of producing results. MethodologyAlthough they come from sociology, we will show that many of the core operators of GT are very close to psychoanalytical ones. For example, inductive and iterative dimensions or the necessary a-theoretical approach of the researcher offer particularly congruent points of contact with the psychoanalytical process, which we will illustrate with concrete examples from our study. ResultsThe inductive, reflexive, and iterative properties of GT are very close to the central operators of the psychoanalytical process while respecting an accepted scientific approach in the social sciences. Promoting co-constructive results and articulating individual and populational scales, they respect both the psychodynamic subjectivity of the participants and the conditions for targeting a scientific approach more generally used in the social sciences. Moreover, using GT in psychoanalytical research fosters translational research and an immediate transfer of scientific knowledge to participants in the field. This is another point of similarity with the psychoanalytical method in which the process itself can be considered as a result. ConclusionGT offers the psychologist-researcher with a psychoanalytical orientation a particularly relevant methodological tool to satisfy many validation conditions of other scientific communities, while respecting his or her epistemological and clinical reference. It is therefore a valuable methodological operator for interdisciplinary research in psychoanalytical psychology.

Psicoterapia psicoanalítica focalizada, implicaciones académicas en estudiantes universitarios. El modelo ESPORA

La presente investigación tuvo el propósito de constatar estadísticamente la efectividad psicoterapéutica de un modelo de intervención focalizado y de orientación psicoanalítica (ESPORA) sobre el desempeño académico de estudiantes universitarios de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Específicamente en el análisis de sus promedios y el número de materias inscritas y aprobadas. Se realizó una comparación del comportamiento de ambas variables antes y después del tratamiento en dos grupos de estudiantes, 432 que fueron atendidos y concluyeron el tratamiento y 204 que solicitaron el servicio, pero no lo recibieron. Se aplicó el estadístico Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney y se obtuvo que entre ambos grupos existen diferencias significativas, de lo cual se puede inferir que el modelo es eficaz y señala la necesidad de institucionalizar este tipo de modelo en espacios universitarios con el objetivo de mejorar su vida académica y evitar la deserción escolar.

From Out of Nowhere - The Paradox of Unconscious Experience

Using material from physics, linguistics, philosophy, and other disciplines, I hope to introduce a view of unconscious experience that can expand our view of the unconscious and its clinical utility beyond our present psychoanalytic orientations and metapsychological perspectives. Central to this presentation is the examination of the at once nebulous and possibly direct relationship between unconscious experience and the apprehension of reality, a relationship that challenges, as I see it, the current psychoanalytic emphasis on subjective experience (as in the view, for example, of perception as interpretation), and of our use of the concept of psychic reality.

Developing a Capacity for Bodily Concern: Antonio Damasio and the Psychoanalysis of Body–Mind Relationship

ABSTRACTThe author starts from the assumption that the body is the mind’s primary object. He explores the link between his clinical research about the Body–Mind relationship and neuroscience, by focusing particularly on the contribution by Antonio Damasio who has emphasized the importance of the bodily roots of mental functioning. In many patients nowadays, developing a capacity for “concern for one’s own body” is a stepping stone toward a genuine non-imitative mental functioning. This perspective contrasts with psychoanalytic orientations that give priority to recognition of the other and intersubjective dynamics.

Against the tide: psychodynamic approaches to agitated childhood in France, between crisis and resistance

Abstract Is psychoanalysis in crisis? This theme turned out to be recurrent in the comments of professionals working with a psychoanalytical orientation that we encountered during a collective survey on the trajectories of children considered as agitated in France. During this research, we conducted interviews with children and their families, with professionals working in care centres, schools and public administration; we also conducted observations and collected data in care centres. In these places, we observed a diversity of practices, but a clear majority of which claimed to be more or less strictly psychoanalytical or more broadly psychodynamic approaches. After presenting some principles that underlie the psychodynamic approach of agitation, the article discusses the crisis feeling expressed by the professionals met and the reasons that may have caused it. A detour through a reflective analysis of our investigative relationships helps to shed more light on the consequences of this climate on daily work in general and on relations with institutional partners in particular.