An Embodied Psychoanalytic Revisioning of Theory

FULL PROGRAM

A New Language For Psychoanalysis
In the hope of foregrounding the emotional bases of therapeutic communication, Doris and Jon will suggest that we replace concept-based words or phrases with body-based language that allows therapists to feel the meaning of what is communicated between bodies. They will explain how using the words I, you, we and world changes psychoanalytic descriptive communication. Optimally, we would shift fluidly, effortlessly, and without conscious awareness from one aspect of the overlapping complexity of I, you, we, and world to another. This would allow us to fully experience embodied wholeness, However, because we all live in a traumatised and traumatising world, we tend to emphasise one or another of these foci of attention at the expense of the others. They will elaborate with theory and examples.

Q&A

A Body-Based View of Transference
Ever since Freud’s earliest efforts to develop his theory of transference, memory has played a key role. Narratives, and the embodied non-verbal memories on which they are based, are central to a new understanding of transference. When viewed from the perspective of the ever-changing memories of both patient and therapist, transference is seen as a slowing or freezing of the flow of I, you, we and world. Brothers and Sletvold propose that it is only in the context of trauma that transferences become rigidified.

Q&A

A Body-Based View of Resistance
What makes therapeutic change so difficult? Brothers and Sletvold propose that the freedom to change can be terrifying. When trauma is viewed from a body-based perspective it becomes clear that what has been called resistance often involves fear of losing one’s connections to all that is needed for one’s psychological well-being. When efforts are made to deepen the embodied we-connectedness of patient and therapist, the fear of change is reduced for both therapeutic partners. Illustrative clinical examples will be presented. The Sletvold-Brothers model of embodied supervision is introduced which makes use of I, you, we, and world. Our speakers will describe this supervision process and give some examples from supervision groups that they have run.

Q&A