Regression II. Development through regression

As shown in our previous paper (‘Regression I. Experimental approaches to regression’, JAP, 65, 2, 345-65), the common mechanism of regression can be described as reversible dedifferentiation, which is understood as a relative increase of the proportion of low-differentiated (older) systems in actualized experience. Experimental data show that regression following disease (chronic tension headache) is followed by adaptation and an increase in system differentiation in that experience domain which contains systems responsible for that adaptation. The results of mathematical modelling support the idea that reversible dedifferentiation can be one of the mechanisms for increasing the effectiveness of adaptation through learning. Reversible dedifferentiation, which is phenomenologically described as regression, is a general mechanism for restructuring the organism-environment interactions in situations where behaviours that were effective in the past become ineffective. Reversible dedifferentiation has evolved as a component of adaptation when new behaviours are formed and large-scale modifications in the existing behaviours are required in the face of changes in the external and/or internal environment. Thus, the authors believe that this article provides evidence for Jung’s view that regression is not only a ‘return’ to past forms of thinking, affects and behaviour, but that regressive processes provide a significant impetus for psychological growth and development.     

Une redéfinition des relations entre la personnalité « Ouverte à l’expérience » et l’intelligence

Previous investigations of the relations between the Big Five personality traits and cognitive abilities have consistently supported that higher levels of openness to experience are associated with higher levels of crystallized abilities or knowledge. However, consistent with the idea that crystallized abilities are the product of the exercise of fluid abilities in the past, a moderately strong correlation between both types of abilities is generally found. Then, the first purpose of the current project was to examine the role of fluid abilities in the relation between openness to experience and crystallized abilities. It aimed at determining whether the relation of openness to crystallized abilities was still significant after controlling for the specific contribution of fluid intelligence to crystallized abilities; or conversely, whether this relation was explained by the relation of openness to fluid intelligence. The second purpose was to determine if the relation of openness to experience to both fluid and crystallized abilities varied as a function of age. The possibility that openness to experience differentially contributes to the variance in fluid and crystallized abilities as a function of age was examined. One hundred and sixty-four participants, aged 18 to 96, completed the openness to experience scale (French version of the IPIP, Goldberg, 1999. Personality psychology in Europe), in addition to several tests of fluid and crystallized abilities. After controlling for the variance associated with fluid abilities in crystallized abilities, Openness to experience was not related to crystallized abilities anymore. Moreover, the contribution of the personality trait of Openness to the variation in fluid and crystallized intelligences was similar at different ages in adulthood. Several possible interpretations and their respective implications are discussed. First, people more open may exercise fluid abilities more than people who are less open, and then increase the efficiency of these abilities. Second, fluid abilities may influence the development of the personality trait of openness to experience, that is people's tendency to seek out for novelty and curiosity. And third, the openness to experience scale may only reflect people's self-assessments of their abilities, such as a self-assessed intelligence construct. In any case, our results strongly suggest that the openness-cognition relation reflects something different from a relation between activity and knowledge acquisition.     

A Strange Fire: an exploration of psycho‐spiritual development aided by Jungian analysis and Vedanta

This paper explores the process of psychological and spiritual development through a series of active imaginations arising from the author's ‘psycho‐spiritual quest’, a process of transformation in which the individual progressively frees themselves from the ego's identifications and may be afforded a vision of the ‘self as consciousness’, as described by Vedanta. The author describes how this quest was facilitated by the disciplines of Transcendental Meditation, Jungian analysis and Vedanta, and how these three disciplines can work together to foster psycho‐spiritual development. The paper aims to de‐mystify the actual experiences that can accompany these practices. The records of these active imaginations, tracing some key stages in this process, are then presented, with a commentary by Marcus West, linking them to Jung's concepts of ego and Self and recent understandings of consciousness and ego development. There is a discussion of Jung's conceptualizations of the ego and the Self and his rejection of the Vedantic understanding of the Self as consciousness. These views are then explored and a reconciliation is suggested through the understanding of the process of disidentification where the difference between Jung's view of the Self and that of Vedanta is understood to be due to the extent of disidentification from the contents of consciousness.     

Masks and Faces in the Setting at the Time of Coronavirus

The “health emergency” forced analysts to seek new ways of continuing with analysis. The article focuses, in particular, on the changes brought about in the setting by the presence of the sanitary mask, following a line that begins with the theme of the “mask” in the collective uses of human cultures, and develops through the Jungian concept of persona, as opposed to the “face” that may convey an authentic image of oneself. A clinical vignette illustrates the issues that the mask raises in the setting by obstructing the communication of emotions. When there is no transformative processing of concrete data, “unmasking” can also lead to an uncanny encounter and to moments of darkness and confusion in analysis, when the analyst experiences the kind of “unconscious identity” between therapist and patient that Jung defined as nigredo. The article is intended as a contribution to the analytic community's current reflections on the new and unforeseen challenges encountered in analysis at the time of the Coronavirus. It is possible to learn from these experiences with a view to integrating new elements and thus modify one's own internal setting, the compass with which each analyst orientates himself.     

The subjective experience of subjects diagnosed with celiac disease in adulthood

Introduction

Celiac disease is estimated to affect between 1 in 100 and 1 in 300 Caucasian subjects. Many quantitative studies have explored the issues encountered by these subjects; however, few studies have addressed the subjective and experiential dimensions of celiac disease.

The Unreal Child1

Unrepresented mental states lead to an impaired ability to feel emotions and trust in oneself, one’s history and in the world. The article explores the question of how representations of oneself and the relevant other, the mother, become possible in the course of therapy when dissociative processes previously made this impossible, and what role unconscious communication plays in the analytic realm. This question will be explored by examining the theories of André Green, Philip Bromberg, and Howard Levine.     

Les compétences des enseignants du technique au lycée professionnel

Vocational school teachers face a problem of acceptance. On arrival in a school, they find themselves put under pressure by families, students, the educational establishment and businesses. This paper deals with the gaps and ambiguities that exist between the educational, vocational and professional areas of teaching. In particular, it shows how, during training, teachers refer to their professional experience in order to connect the two areas, and to centre their activities on student training. The gap between professional experience and the pedagogic framework acts as a motor for training and can be seen as an attempt to gain acceptance. It brings into question the views of training and vocationnal psychologist counsellors (COP) in an analysis of vocational counselling related to whether students complete their diploma course or drop out of school.     

Chilled to the bone: embodied countertransference and unspoken traumatic memories

Starting from a deeply challenging experience of early embodied countertransference in a first encounter with a new patient, the author explores the issues it raised. Such moments highlight projective identification as well as what Stone (2006) has described as ‘embodied resonance in the countertransference’. In these powerful experiences linear time and subject boundaries are altered, and this leads to central questions about analytic work. As well as discussing the uncanny experience at the very beginning of an analytic encounter and its challenges for the analytic field, the author considers ‘the time horizon of analytic process’ (Hogenson 2007 ), the relationship between ‘moments of complexity and analytic boundaries’ (Cambray 2011 ) and the role of mirror neurons in intersubjective experience.     

Improving mindfulness through self-connection

IntroductionMindfulness-based practices have received significant attention recently due to the numerous benefits that result from increased mindfulness. One construct, self-connection, is less well-known but appears to relate to mindfulness.ObjectiveThe current study experimentally manipulated self-connection in an attempt to increase people's mindfulness.MethodA sample of 66 participants journaled for one week. Half of them discussed their days while the other half wrote about aspects of their day that related to self-connection.ResultsNo significant difference in mindfulness emerged between groups after the week of journaling. However, those who journaled about self-connection were significantly more mindful a month later. In contrast, no sustained or significant increase in mindfulness emerged in the control group.ConclusionAlthough limited by its sample size, this study provides initial support for self-connection and its ability to improve mindfulness. More studies are needed to further examine self-connection and its relationship to mindfulness for both researchers and practitioners.