Advances in Relational Psychotherapy

Akela’s Homesickness: Affect regulation, relational patterns, mindfulness and enactment in psychoanalyzis

The therapeutic relationship at the heart of this paper revolves around the special language that developed between Akela, a young Egyptian born married woman, and Doris Brothers – her American analyst. On entering therapy, Akela not only lacked a sense of belonging to a place or nationality but she was also deeply confused about her professional and social life. Despite this, she quickly developed the sense that she belonged with her analyst even though, superficially, they appeared to have many differences. This talk describes the unfolding of a therapeutic relationship from dislocation to connection that is utlimately enriched by a strong and mutual sense of twinship. The analyst’s own relational past and her capacity to recognize an enactment stemming from her interpersonal history is significant in the success of the therapeutic process.