The other between fear and desire – countertransference fantasy as a bridge between me and the other

This paper attempts to show how unrepresented rupture/injury of primary expectations of the early relationship is reactivated in the analytic process. This becomes perceptible especially as unconscious fear and a specific defence described as ‘living behind a glass-wall’. The author, however, postulates the existence of an inherent dialogical-dyadic principle in the psyche, which she calls archetypal hope, and shows how this principle may become active in the analytical space. These aspects of analytical treatments are sketched with two vignettes, in which unconscious processes of exchange cause the analyst to experience unrepresented states. The author describes how the analyst is gradually able to experience and understand this, and how this understanding finally – without first becoming explicit – becomes effective in the analytical space. Special attention is given to the analytic attitude. A readiness to accept and move into regression and a receptivity to attune to the early sensory experience of the analysand is regarded as essential. Through this the analyst gains access to the inner space of the analysand and, through bodily experience and pre-symbolic processes, the unrepresented may thus become figurable. The reverie and countertransference fantasies are understood as a bridge: they connect the analytic pair. However, the reverie also creates the transition between that which was not – the absent representation – and that which wants to emerge. It thus bridges the personal unconscious (implicit expectation) and the archetypal (the archetypal hope). Through this, the space of hope may become a space of possibility, and help bridge the chasm between the experienced and the hoped-for.     

Displacement as trauma and trauma as displacement in the experience of refugees

This paper investigates the relations between displacement, home, trauma and the self in the experience of refugees, which has become an issue of unexpected and far-reaching proportions in recent times. It questions to what extent and under what conditions displacement in the world may be traumatic and how trauma may be considered the effect of an inner displacement. Refugees’ lives are marked by forced migration that is related to a certain suffering due to the changes in their family, relational, social and cultural lives. The paper explores the extent to which these changes can represent a break so significant as to be traumatic. It outlines the way in which traumatic experiences can produce an inner displacement and reorganization of one’s mental life that leads to a focus on traumatic complexes. Under the most severe traumatic conditions, this can be understood as a displacement of the central axis of Self, in which the ego complex yields its position to other complexes, with a deep change in the organization and functioning of self. The experience of refugees highlights the way in which we live in a matrix of conscious and unconscious links between inner and outer worlds that need deeper and simultaneous consideration to understand their implications and mutual resonances for the psyche. Clinical cases of refugees will illustrate some aspects of these interconnections.     

Self,other and individuation: resolving narcissism through the lunar and solar paths of the Rosarium

This paper describes narcissism as our natural, infant-like behaviour, and specifies three characteristics relating to the evacuation and avoidance of distress, to control, and to distancing from relationship. It suggests that the processes of incarnation and individuation represent the development of the early ego and the ‘resolution’ of these narcissistic ways of being, including escape from the ‘mirror trap’. The development of the early, controlling ‘homunculus-ego’ entails the loosening and broadening of ego-identifications and the ego becoming subject to the Self. This is an embodied-relational-social-spiritual process outlined in detail by the full 20 woodcuts of the Rosarium Philosophorum, and specifically the lunar (relational) and solar (self-expressive) paths, which are explored herein. These processes are illustrated with respect to the interaction between infant and caregiver, clinical vignettes and examples from the political sphere.     

Healing cultural trauma and its application to the Router programme

This paper explores the issue of cultural trauma, which is an area of concern in psychology generally and has emerged as one within the International Association for Analytical Psychology’s Router training programme. A summary of responses to the issues of cultural trauma and complexes (alongside cultural differences) within analytical psychology are presented, followed by an overview of findings from the IAAP’s evaluation of the Router training programme. These findings are then aligned with contemporary sociological research. The significant issues involved in healing cultural trauma seem to be ‘working through’, as well as the place of imagination, dreamwork, symbolism and metaphor. Research in Poland has specifically highlighted the importance of good governance, economic vitality, personal and social capital (as in education and social participation), a meaning system, certain external contingencies, channels of mobility and ritualism.     

Development and initial reliability and validity of a new measure of distorted maternal representations: The Mother–Infant Relationship Scale

Distorted maternal representations (DMRs)—mother's ideas, understanding, and feelings about the infant—shape early interaction and the emerging relationship. Distorted interactions reportedly affect infant attachment and socioemotional development and may be associated with maternal early adversity and trauma. Limited measures are available that could be used as screening tools of DMRs. The aims of this study were to (a) describe the development of the Mother–Infant Relationship Scale (MIRS) and (b) to evaluate its psychometric properties. The development and validation of the MIRS closely followed standard guidelines for the development of psychometric tests. Psychometric properties were examined across two samples: 78 adult psychiatric patients with features of borderline personality and 86 individuals from a nonclinical sample (N = 164). The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .91) for the clinical sample and adequate internal consistency (.78) for the nonclinical sample, excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .81), and good concurrent validity with an observational (Pearson's correlation coefficients = −.35 to −.54) and a representational measure (.53). Factor analysis revealed three components: DMRs specific to (a) maternal hostility/rejection of the infant, (b) issues about parenting/attachment, and (c) anxiety/helplessness about infant care. Findings suggest that the MIRS is a reliable and valid screening tool of DMRs. Potential uses in clinical and research settings are discussed.     

The My Emotions Questionnaire: A self-report of mothers’ emotional responses to infant crying

The purpose of this article was to examine the psychometrics of the My Emotions Questionnaire, a self-report designed to assess mothers’ emotional reactions when their infants cry. Participants were 240 first-time mothers. When infants were 6 months and 1 year old, mothers completed the new questionnaire and measures assessing beliefs and behavioral responses to infant crying, and interview-based measures of mothers’ emotional reactions and causal attributions about crying were administered. Maternal sensitivity and negative behaviors were observed when infants were 6 months and 1 and 2 years old. Mothers reported on their discipline practices when children were 2 years old. Five emotion factors emerged based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 6-month data: Amusement, Anxiety, Frustration, Sympathy, and Protective. The five-factor structure was supported via a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 1-year data. All scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and significant stability from 6 months to 1 year. Amusement, Frustration, and Protectiveness demonstrated the best convergent validity with cry cognitions and predictive validity to parenting measures, followed by Anxiety, although effects tended to be small to moderate. Evidence for the validity of Sympathy was less compelling. The potential utility of the questionnaire for basic and applied research is discussed.     

Analyse du langage et analyse des discours : quelques applications en psychologie

Discourse analysis is still underdeveloped in Psychology. However, it offers both a precise theoretical framework and various methods of analysis, which make it possible to deal with issues at the heart of psychology and the missions of the practicing psychologists. All discourse is the result of a join construction; it integrates cross-perceptions as well as inter-individual and inter-group relational dynamics. There is no border between the individual who produced the discourse, and the individual who receives it. One is in the other and the other is in one. This conception is particularly relevant when it comes to analyzing what takes place at the heart of social relations, whatever the field of intervention: health, training, work and even more broadly the political and societal debate. This special issue does not aim to be exhaustive but presents different possible applications of discourse analysis, in order to provide the reader, reading grids and tools, which inform practice and nourish theory.     

“To g or not to g?” — Analysis of the dimensional structure of a cognitive abilities’ battery

Over the past century there has been an extensive debate in Psychology over whether intelligence structure is best represented through a single general ability, multiple specific abilities, or a hierarchical structure of abilities. This study aims at contributing to this debate through an analysis of the dimensional structure of a cognitive abilities’ battery aiming to evaluate, in combination, differentiated cognitive processes of increasing complexity (comprehension, reasoning, and problem solving) through items of different contents (verbal, numerical, and spatial). A Portuguese representative sample of 2546 adolescents enrolled in secondary education participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analyses were carried out and the results showed that: (1) the hierarchical model is the only presenting an acceptable fit to the data (RMSEA = .07; CFI = .96; TLI = .92), (2) the existence of specific factors cannot be neglected, and (3) contents of the subtests assume relevance to explain the levels of adolescents’ cognitive performance. These results are discussed taking into account the contribution of school experience for the development and differentiation of adolescents’ cognitive abilities.