The reality of the other
Dreaming of the analyst1
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8973005 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Ferruta (0000-0001-6036-0348, Viale Bianca Maria 520122 MilanItaly, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 93-108 |
| Publication date | 2009-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1745-8315.2008.00102.x |
| PMID | 19245572 |
| OpenAlex | W2081537818 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
The author discusses the obstacles to symbolization encountered when the analyst appears in the first dream of an analysis: the reality of the other is represented through the seeming recognition of the person of the analyst, who is portrayed in undisguised form. The interpretation of this first dream gives rise to reflections on the meaning of the other's reality in analysis: precisely this realistic representation indicates that the function of the other in the construction of the psychic world has been abolished. An analogous phenomenon is observed in the countertransference, as the analyst's mental processes are occluded by an exclusively self-generated interpretation of the patient's psychic world. For the analyst too, the reality of the other proves not to play a significant part in the construction of her interpretation. A 'turning-point' dream after five years bears witness to the power of the transforming function performed by the other throughout the analysis, by way of the representation of characters who stand for the necessary presence of a third party in the construction of a personal psychic reality. The author examines the mutual denial of the other's otherness, as expressed by the vicissitudes of the transference and countertransference between analyst and patient, otherness being experienced as a disturbance of self-sufficient narcissistic functioning. The paper ends with an analysis of the transformations that took place in the analytic relationship
Cognition · Countertransference · Denial · Dream · Interpretation (philosophy · Meaning (existential · Psychic · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Reality testing · Representation (politics · Witness · Law · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Social Critique · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2016 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |