James Astor in conversation with Warren Colman

In this interview with Warren Colman, James Astor speaks about his development as a Jungian analyst from his own experience of personal analysis in the 1960s to his recent retirement from clinical practice. The discussion covers his long association with Michael Fordham, the child analytic training at the SAP, the infant observation seminars with Fordham and Gianna Henry through which Fordham was able to make new discoveries about infant development, his experience of supervision with Donald Meltzer and the development of his own thinking through a series of papers on the analytic process, supervision and the relation between language and truth. The interview concludes with reflections about the legacy of Michael Fordham and the future of analytic work.     

Theory in practice

We are privileged to publish the last talk Fordham prepared before he died, which Fordham himself observed was ‘rather discursive’. As he comments, ‘theories are so ingrained in my work that I do not need to remember them’. ‘Theory in practice’ was part of a series of talks on theory by different speakers, given to the Society of Analytical Psychology monthly scientific meeting. It is not a polished nor a comprehensive essay, rather it is the musings of an 89-year-old analyst intended for a group who knew his work and achievements. He was too ill to deliver it himself.

In this informal communication the part theory plays in analytic practice is examined and examples of the different uses to which theory is put within analytic sessions are considered. The usefulness and value of theories are discussed with reference to Jung's theories and attitudes to them and to the theory of the primary self.     

The mapping of Spanish social psychology through its conferences: a bibliometric perspective

This study of papers gathered from the proceedings presented at Spanish social psychology conferences explores the use of bibliometrics for studying scientific disciplines. A reference database of all the papers included in the conference proceedings of events held from 1983 to 2000 was generated and classified by thematic area, paper type and author institutional affiliation. The references were laid out on contingency tables and mapped with correspondence analysis. The results show that there is a growing number of co-authored papers and a predominance of empirical over theoretical paper types. Some institutions have a higher concentration of theoretical papers while others work mostly in the areas of organizational and health psychology. In terms of empirical papers, there is a tendency towards generating more qualitative-based studies over the span of time captured by this work. There are also a number of papers written about such areas as cultural psychology that points to the emergence of an interest in critical social psychology. Concluding remarks underline the role of conferences and scientific meetings as an important indicator of the dynamic development of a scientific discipline.     

Fordham, feeling, and countertransference: reflections on defences of the self

This is a paper about the difficulties we as analysts get into when we find that a patient has activated something in our unconscious which we cannot resolve in our work with them. Fordham described at the end of his life, in a number of papers, his difficulties and discomfort at not being able to resolve an impasse with one of his patients. From the conversations we had about this situation I knew this caused them both a lot of pain. After Fordham's death his former patient consulted me. Arising from these consultations I describe how I have understood the impasse to have arisen between Fordham and his patient. This paper links character and clinical interests, personality and impasse, developmental failures and defences of the self. It is a personal statement in which I have struggled to represent the meaning in the pain these two men suffered during their analytic engagement, which lasted more than ten years. The theme of fathers and sons was central to the problem.     

Looking back,looking forward: A reexamination of Benjamin Wolstein’s interlock and the emergence of intersubjectivity

In this paper the author takes a close look at Benjamin Wolstein’s chapter, ‘Therapy’, from his book, Countertransference, published in 1959. This chapter contains a discussion of what he refers to as the interlock between analyst and patient, or today what we might describe as transference/countertransference enactment. The author shows how Wolstein’s concept of the interlock and its relation to the analyst’s countertransference was radical and innovative for its time. Wolstein’s notion of a transference/countertransference interlock, along with the seminal contributions of Ferenczi and some of the early interpersonal theorists, anticipates the complexities of a two‐person psychology and the entanglement which can occur from the intermingling of unconscious processes of analyst and patient in the experiential field. The author highlights three main ideas. First, the author provides a brief review of enactment with an emphasis on the role of the analyst’s participation as conceptualized by the various theoretical perspectives. An historical context is given for Wolstein’s clinical theorizing. Second, the author explicates Wolstein’s concept of the interlock, with particular attention to the processes involved which account for the complexities it presents. Third, the author examines the ‘working through’ process, including the emergence of intersubjectivity in the resolution of the interlock. The author shows throughout Wolstein’s emphasis on the influence of the analyst’s personal psychology, mutuality, and intersubjectivity, all of which anticipated the gradual interpersonalization of psychoanalysis across the various schools of thought.     

End notes: two unpublished presentations by Michael Fordham

Following the publication in this journal of two of Fordham's unpublished papers selected by James Astor (2010, 55, 5), the editors have asked me to select a further two. I have chosen two clinical pieces, one clinical notes and the other notes that refine his previous thinking, which Fordham wrote at the end of his life. Both are examples of the way Fordham continued throughout his analytic work to turn to patients as his primary source of learning. Fordham presented the first piece, ‘A case study’, to Parkside Clinic in 1988. Its subject is his last child patient, a nine‐year‐old boy with behaviour problems that destroyed the analytic frame. The second is clearly for an SAP (Society of Analytical Psychology) audience and written probably around 1992–93. It is titled ‘Some comments on transference and countertransference’ and contains material from the patient who has become known through papers in this journal as ‘K’. The two pieces are presented together within a commentary rather than separately with footnotes, in order to provide some context for Fordham's thinking in his late years.     

The Adam and Eve syndrome

Conclusion The concept of divine forgiveness is incomprehensible to most, since it involves principles that defy rational interpretation on the level of human cognition. As a result, individuals, and especially those who present themselves for treatment, find themselves caught up in a repetition of self-judgment and selfpunishment, which is a reenactment of the original sin and the disobedience encountered in the Garden of Eden. It can be pointed out to patients that this continuous, repetitious acting out of the functions of self-judgment and selfpunishment represents the worst sin of all—the original sin in which the power and authority of God are usurped and assumed, resulting eventually in a denial of God along with symptoms that are often incapacitating. When these functions are returned to God, punishment can be expected to be much less severe and intense, because of the nature and characteristics of divine forgiveness.Ray O. Sexton, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee, maintaining an active inpatient and outpatient practice of psychotherapy. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences and is a clinical instructor in psychiatry at the Center. He was a Duke University fellow in psychiatry and served with the U.S. Navy as a medical officer from 1969 to 1971.Richard C. Maddock, S.T.M., Ph.D., is an Episcopal priest and a licensed psychologist in Arkansas and in Tennessee. He has published a number of scholarly articles in the areas of social and clinical psychology and in the psychology of religion. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and various state and regional associations, at which he has presented scientifie papers. With Dr. Sexton, he maintains a private practice in Memphis, Tennessee.     

Constructing a scientific paper: Howell's prothrombin laboratory notebook and paper

Scientists generally record their laboratory activities and experimental results in notebooks, from which they construct scientific papers. The Johns Hopkins physiologist William Henry Howell kept a laboratory notebook from 1913 to 1914, in which he recorded experiments on the blood clotting factor prothrombin. In 1914 he published a paper using this notebook, to justify his theory of prothrombin activation. Howell's paper is reconstructed, in terms of its narrative and argument elements, from the laboratory activities and experimental results recorded in the notebook. This reconstruction reveals an intimate connection between the two texts and the process by which Howell constructed a scientific paper. The generation of scientific knowledge by Howell is then evaluated, especially in terms of theory formation and justification.     

The narrow use of the term ego in analytical psychology: the 'not-I' is also who I am

This paper(1) explores some aspects of the narrowness of Jung's usage of the term ego and the consequences which are understood to follow there from. Jung is understood to see the ego as a surface phenomenon and, essentially, as the focal point of consciousness, not recognizing its potential to function more broadly, deeply, and unconsciously. Furthermore, although he does recognize the ego as 'the total conscious personality' his use of the term frequently does not reflect that definition. Whilst Jung's analysis of the narrowly functioning ego is enlightening and groundbreaking, he treats this narrow functioning as if it is characteristic of the ego itself, ascribing any 'broad functioning' primarily to the Self. This narrow use of the term ego, and the corresponding use of the term Self, are understood to have significant consequences for clinical practice, including leading the analyst into an over-identification with the patient and a loss of the analyst's sense of self. It is also understood to lead to difficulties dealing with more disturbed individuals, to stuck and broken down analyses, to wear and tear on the analyst and, potentially, splits between the different schools of analytical psychology. These concerns all represent difficulties with working in the transference, and Jung's own experience of this is briefly explored.     

The pea cea ble kingdom

While working as a training analyst in Zürich in the early 1970s, Arnold Mindell began to develop an offshoot of Jungian psychology that he called dreambodywork, which links experiences of bodily feelings and symptoms with our dreams. For the past twenty-five years, he has expanded his approach, now known as process work or process-oriented psychology, to include work with psychiatric and comatose patients as well as large groups in conflict.

Using the language of Taoism, Mindell distinguishes between the dreaming process which, like the Tao, cannot be spoken, and dream content, which can be spoken. He likens the former to the invisible archetypal realm and the latter to the archetypal images, which can be seen. Mindell suggests that clinicians who focus on the latter tend to use analysis and interpretation to understand dream figures, standing aloof and separating subject from object, such as analyst and analyst and or dream ego and shadow. Instead, he advocates using a more shamanic approach that follows the mysterious process of the living unconscious as it unfolds in bodily feelings, smells, tastes, movements, visualizations, relationships, and unpredictable events, as well as dreams. In this way, Mindell has taken the dream out of the sleep state into waking consciousness and out of the psyche into the world. While standing on the shoulders of his teachers, C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, he has continued to reach for his own star.     

The relation between personal & archetypal factors in psychological development

Abstract

Edward Edinger is a prominent Jungian analyst whose book, Ego and Archetype, is widely regarded as a modern classic in analytical psychology. The roots of this book go back to the early years of his career when he began his exploration of the fundamental relations between the personal and trans-personal aspects of psychological life.

This paper is a newly edited version of a lecture Dr. Edinger gave in 1962 to Jungian analysts in New York and Los Angeles. of particular interest to the general reader is the way he illuminates how Jung and his followers utilize dreams and the personal relationship between therapist and patient to facilitate psychological development within the “archetypal field which they share jointly.” In addition, k illustrates how the principle of complementarity in physics and psychology, as discussed by Bell, Bohr, and Jung in this issue, facilitates a democratic approach to psychotherapy. Does this seem to be an unlikely brew of physical, psychological, and political concepts? Read on!     

Experience,Effectiveness, and Perceptions Toward Sport Psychology Consultants: A Critical Review of Peer-Reviewed Articles

The first scientific papers on sport psychology consultants (SPCs) focused primarily on the professional practice of experienced SPCs. Since then, the scientific literature on SPCs has greatly diversified. The purpose of this review is to summarize and critically examine the findings of three scientifically studied topics on SPCs: SPCs' experiences, perceptions toward SPCs, and SPCs' effectiveness. Peer-reviewed scientific articles published in English were found in the main sport and psychology databases. The primary results in relation to each topic and the limitations of these papers are presented. The discussion examines future avenues from which to develop research on SPCs.     

Resistance in treatment as a means of avoiding inner conflict

It is not commonly known that, in his eighties, Michael Fordham sought the help of Donald Meltzer in what Dr Meltzer described as ‘more a weekly supervision of dreams than an analysis’. Dr Fordham is said to have commented that it was ‘a weekly supervision of my inner world - and you can't get closer to psychoanalysis than that’ He was greatly helped by these ‘supervisions’ and at the end of their work together, Meltzer suggested that Fordham wrote his memoirs. This resulted in The Making of an Analyst: Michael Fordham, published in 1993.

This fascinating account of Fordham's life and work contains much of interest about his personal development. He talks with candour about his confusions and passions in what is at times a surprisingly revealing manner. In particular Fordham talks openly about his closest relationships and how they affected him. The book was published, as he wanted it to be, after careful discussion with James Astor and Karl Figlio.

We are pleased to be able to publish the following contribution from Dr Meltzer about the book which he prompted. It is a mixture of personal responses on reading the book and memories of the man.     

How Pierre Janet used pathological psychology to save the philosophical self

According to traditional French historiography, French scientific psychology was born when it differentiated itself from philosophy. This split between the two disciplines is attributed to Taine and Ribot, who, consequently, are considered to be the "founding fathers" of French psychology. In this paper we shall examine the case of Pierre Janet, who, at the turn of the century, was recognized worldwide as the most important French psychologist. It is generally said that he was the follower of Ribot and of Charcot. However, he was also Paul Janet's nephew. Paul Janet was a very well known and influential philosopher of the so-called French "spiritualistic" school, for which psychology was central to philosophy. In 1889, Pierre Janet published his doctoral dissertation, L'Automatisme psychologique, which was immediately considered to be a classic in psychology. We shall argue that this book is as much indebted to the old spiritualistic psychology, which claimed the substantial unity of the self, as to the new psychology at the time, which questioned it. With Pierre Janet, the split between psychology and philosophy in France was reconsidered. It would be more accurate to speak in terms of a compromise between philosophy and the "new" physiological and pathological psychology.     

Fragmentation and Narcissism

The paper focuses on the articulation of two areas of theory: that of development of the self through fragmentation and differentiation and that of narcissism in early psychological development, and its pathology later in life. Jungian ideas concerning the self and individuation (including those developed by Fordham) are linked with psychoanalytic ideas, notably Kohut's, and related to the concepts of narcissism and ego-development. In this the focus is on a revaluation of the negative overtones of 'fragmentation' and 'narcissism' and an indication of their place in the process of individuation. It is pointed out that a varying emphasis in the analyst on what are called the biological and ethological aspects of these theories will have important implications for the treatment of patients. The theoretical position is illustrated by a lengthy clinical example involving a case of early injury to the self which suggests the pathology of narcissistic character disorder. But the case also illustrates the contribution to development of fragmentation and narcissism, which are revalued here as the 'part-for-the-whole' and as one of the 'motors' of individuation. Working within a perspective that prioritizes the importance of the drive towards relationship, it is recommended that the analyst learns to respect and value phenomenologically the contribution of fragmentation and narcissism to normal development, if true healing is to occur.     

'TAKING THE TRANSFERENCE': SOME TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS IN THREE PAPERS BY BION

In this clinical paper, the author presents a coherent model for conceptualising the process of establishing a 'containing object' in the mind of the analysand throughout the course of analysis. The technical implications offered in this model derive mainly from concepts and notions put forward in three papers by Wilfred Bion and explicated by the present author: 'A theory of thinking' (1962/1988), in which Bion emphasises what he calls 'realistic projective identification', which functions as an unconscious form of communication to and calls for understanding on the part of the analyst that is aimed towards the development of thoughts and an apparatus with which to think thought; 'Notes on memory and desire' (1967/1988), in which he sets forth some 'rules' for the analytic work that is centred on the 'here and now' of the evolving therapeutic interaction; and his paper on 'Evidence' (1976/1987), wherein he focuses on the 'fact' of the individual analyst's emotional experience. The author also demonstrates, through the presentation of four detailed vignettes, some of the ways in which the analytic process may fail or succeed, highlighting the import of the analyst's capacity for 'reverie', 'transformation', and 'publication'—all aspects of the containing function. In addition, she further expands upon Bion's work with a discussion of the essentials of 'taking the transference' and differentiates between two main dimensions of interpretation, 'projective' and 'introjective'.     

经验现象学心理学:乔治对胡塞尔现象学的继承与发展

美国现象学心理学家阿米多·乔治基于科学和心理学视角所提出的经验现象学心理学是对胡塞尔现象学的继承和发展。这表现为:在批判对象上,从胡塞尔的反二元论细化为反自然科学心理学;在出发点和基本原则上,将胡塞尔的生活世界、意向性、还原等概念从超验层面放置到经验层面;在研究方法上,从胡塞尔的描述还原过程转向具体的描述现象学心理学方法。本质上,乔治的经验现象学心理学与胡塞尔的现象学一脉相承,不仅完美地展示了后者的基本原理,更在具体概念和操作应用上充实且超越了后者。     

Exploring a patient's shift from relative silence to verbal expressiveness: Observations on an element of the analyst's participation

By tracing a portion of close process of a patient's shifts from a relatively silent and inhibited stance to one in which he is beginning to verbalize more about his experience and fantasy, I will illustrate some tensions between the analyst's role as facilitating expressiveness and as occupying a place in the patient's internalized world. Since the analyst's functions as facilitator and as internal object (often an obstacle to the patient's expressiveness) are sometimes in conflict with one another, it is important for the analyst to be able to work internally with this conflict as he works with his patient. Splitting processes between these two functions may provide the analyst with cues related to the patient's and the analyst's resistance to understanding the patient's communication of unconscious conflict and the patient's recruitment of the analyst into the patient's internalized world.     

Embodying analysis: the body and the therapeutic process

This paper considers the transfer of somatic effects from patient to analyst, which gives rise to embodied countertransference, functioning as an organ of primitive communication. By means of processes of projective identification, the analyst experiences somatic disturbances within himself or herself that are connected to the split‐off complexes of the analysand. The analysty’s own attempt at mind‐body integration ushers the patient towards a progressive understanding and acceptance of his or her inner suffering. Such experiences of psychic contagion between patient and analyst are related to Jung’s ‘psychology of the transference’ and the idea of the ‘subtle body’ as an unconscious shared area. The re‐attribution of meaning to pre‐verbal psychic experiences within the ‘embodied reverie’ of the analyst enables the analytic dyad to reach the archetypal energies and structuring power of the collective unconscious. A detailed case example is presented of how the emergence of the vitalizing connection between the psyche and the soma, severed through traumatic early relations with parents or carers, allows the instinctual impulse of the Self to manifest, thereby reactivating the process of individuation.