'Weaving thoughts' A method for presenting and commenting psychoanalytic case material in a peer group

The authors argue that there are good reasons for seriously considering the dynamics of the peer group when discussing psychoanalytical case material. The setting and procedure have to protect and facilitate for the presenter and the group members to work together. The aim of this paper is to discuss the problems connected with presenting and discussing clinical psychoanalytical material in a peer group and to describe one such specifi c method, which the authors call the 'weaving thoughts' method. The design is primarily inspired by Bion's formulation 'thoughts in search of a thinker'. The group participants refl ect on the presented clinical material in a way that the authors metaphorically describe as creating a weave of thoughts that emerges from the material. The aim of the method is to facilitate a work-group climate that allows thoughts to wander about, and to avert group members from debating and compromising the integrity of its members by letting basic assumptions come into power. The method is described from theoretical and practical points of view, with two illustrations of seminars according to this design and fi nally a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of the method.     

Group psychology and the structural theory: a revised psychoanalytic model of group psychology.

It has been my aim in this paper to revise the existing psychoanalytic theory of group psychology in accordance with current structural concepts. The need for fundamental revision in the existing theory of group organization is demonstrated by its restriction to an oedipal paradigm, which cannot account for the regression to an oral paradigm of group organization during group formation. Freud's explanation of regression in crowds is reviewed. The limitations inherent in Freud's topographic and narcisistic models are demonstrated; irreconcilable contradictions are shown to exist between the two theories. A structural model of group psychology that is free from internal contradictions and provides a unifying explanation for both regression and merging in the crowd is developed. As a consequence of these revisions it is possible to conceptualize preoedipal organizations of group structure in addition to the oedipal paradigm proposed by Freud.     

Perceptual, cognitive and linguistic development after early hemispherectomy: two case studies.

Longitudinal data on perceptual-motor, cognitive, and linguistic functioning is reported for two children: one with right hemispherectomy and one with left hemispherectomy. Both levels of functioning and specific profiles of abilities within an area of function are evaluated. The subjects both show effects from damage to the brain: shortened memory span, general perceptual and motor disabilities, and somewhat depressed general intellectual functioning. Areas of comparative strength and weakness in functioning in the two subjects are suggestive of adult patterns of hemispheric specialization, despite the young age of the subjects at the time of brain damage.     

Neuropsychology and linguistic aphasiology: evidence in favor of case studies

Two aphasic patients speaking Brazilian Portuguese and presenting the characteristics of Broca's aphasics were analyzed in relation to their capacities to express null subjects in two different grammatical persons: 1st and 3rd persons. The analysis consisted of looking at the means obtained from the two aphasic patients and their individual results concerning the production of null subjects in each grammatical person on focus. The individual pattern shown by each patient indicated the relevancy of analyzing individually the performance of neuropsychological patients. In this way the hypothesis which claims that in Brazilian Portuguese the null subject has two different natures could be verified.     

Work and motherhood: preliminary report of a psychoanalytic study

This paper reports preliminary findings of a systematic inquiry into the manifest experience of conflict between paid work and motherhood. Psychoanalytic principles inform the design of a questionnaire and a research interview and the interpretation of data derived from both sources. An initial review of material from 140 questionnaires and 65 clinical interview series suggests that women vary tremendously in the ease or difficulty with which they navigate real obstacles to the integration of paid work and motherhood. The quality of a woman's relationship with her mother emerges as a singularly powerful influence on her experience of work-family balance.     

Dissociation between linguistic and nonlinguistic gestural systems: a case for compositionality.

This paper addresses the issue of the separability of disorders of sign language from disorders of gesture and pantomime. The study of a left-lesioned deaf signer presents one of the most striking examples to date of the cleavage between linguistic signs and manual pantomime. The left-hemisphere lesion produced a marked sign language aphasia disrupting both the production and the comprehension of sign language. However, in sharp contrast to the breakdown of sign language, the ability to communicate in nonlinguistic gesture was remarkably spared. This case has important implications for our understanding of the neural mediation of language and gesture. We argue that the differences observed in the fractionation of linguistic versus nonlinguistic gesture reflect differing degrees of compositionality of systems underlying language and gesture. The compositionality hypothesis receives support for the existence of phonemic paraphasias in sign language production, illustrating structural dissolution which is absent in the production of pantomimic gesture. Understanding the neural encoding of compositional motoric systems may lead to a principled anatomical account of the neural separability of language and gesture. This case provides a powerful indication of the left hemisphere's specialization for language-specific functions.     

Methodological problems in the psychoanalytic interpretation of literature: a review of studies on Sophocles' Antigone.

Through a critical review of several studies dealing with Sophocles' drama, the Antigone, I have explored some of the prominent methodological problems encountered in the psychoanalytic interpretation of literature. Foremost among these is the inherent difficulty that the interpretation of literature is unable to benefit from the process of the analytic situation. Divorced from the realities of the therapeutic process, the drama itself is often used to corroborate an author's theoretical bias or to advance some special interest, with consequent distortion or blurring of the text. Although data about the artist's life and sociocultural environment may be of crucial significance, it is the text itself that must be the ultimate object of study. Through a re-examination of the Antigone as an aesthetic totality I have sketched out what appears to be an alternative manner of approaching the drama, and suggested that works of art reach us on both unconscious and conscious levels. I have stressed the need to analyze our emotional response to a work as affording a valuable source of insight into the work itself. Throughout, I have drawn attention to the need for greater scholarly rigor and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. An open recognition of the problems in the psychoanalytic study of literature should serve to minimize dilettantism and raise the level of scholarship.     

The Balint movement worldwide: present state and future outlook: a brief history of Balint around the world

Michael and Enid Balint began running seminars for GPs (family physicians) in London in the late 1950s. Balint groups were soon started in other countries leading to the formation of the International Balint Federation. This paper describes the activities of the Federation and surveys the health and strength of the Balint movement in different parts of the world. While formal Balint training seems unlikely to become part of the official curriculum in more than a few countries, Balint's ideas will continue to be influential.     

The psychoanalytic process and the development of insight in child analysis: a case study

This paper describes a segment of the analysis of an aggressive latency-age child. The data demonstrate the relationship between the establishment of a psychoanalytic process (the analysis of transference, defense, and resistance), the development and nature of insight in the child, and the resulting therapeutic change. Examination of the process shows that the therapeutic gains were a result of insights acquired by the child, particularly his awareness of painful affects that had been warded off. This case is compared with Bornstein's treatment of a phobic child who manifested severely "out-of-control" behavior.     

The effects of the introduction of medication on the psychoanalytic process: a case study

The past fifteen years have seen a marked change in the attitude of psychoanalysts toward the use of medication in psychoanalysis, yet few detailed case studies have appeared in which the effects of the introduction of a medication on the psychoanalytic process have been studied. A plea for fluoxetine (Prozac) as a weight-loss aid, from a female patient whose analysis had progressed satisfactorily, set in motion a remarkable series of events. Her mood brightened, she rapidly lost weight, and she ultimately realized that she had the fantasy of being impregnated, all of which represented the reenactment of crucial childhood experiences. The most significant change in the psychoanalytic process was a newfound ability to experience critical thoughts and feelings, which previously had been prohibited by her harsh superego. At first both patient and analyst believed that the medication had "softened" her superego, but reexamination of the data revealed that most, if not all, of the changes could be attributed to the transference meaning of the collaboration rather than to the effects of the drug.