11. "I Want My Cake and Eat it Too:"
The symbolic encoding of disavowed pre-symbolic affective longings.
Can talk therapy provide enough of an
in vivo experience?
Presenter: |
Barbara D. Laier, PhD |
Chair: |
Michael D. Clifford, MDiv, CSW |
Self Psychology Page | 21th Conference
Program
Abstract:
Disavowal of developmental longings is indigenous to most character defenses.
The patient was not privy to self-object experiences which provided adequate attunement to his/her unique sensitivities in the maturation process to allow self-regulation of powerful affect states. Because these longings are most often at the pre-symbolic level, what can the therapist do or what must the therapist BE via his/her own affective presence for the character defenses to soften and allow for the longings to be affectively experienced vs. intellectually identified.
Can the therapist provide an in vivo experience within the office sufficient enough to result in total mind/body integration of disavowed longings, at the affective level? In many cases, an in vivo experience outside of the therapist’s office will provide a function with sufficient meaning that could never be matched by the therapist.
Selections from two cases will be presented. In the first case, an in vivo experience mobilized the pre-symbolic affective longings, which then had a positive impact on the transference. In the second case, an in vivo experience, which was an exact developmental repetition, heightened the transference resistance. A brief discussion follows, which focuses on the co-determined intersubjective "fit" between patient and therapist in each case, reciprocal mutual influence, and why talk therapy is still the most effective for integration.