Events and Seminars
| Event | : | Debbie Bellman Memorial Lecture |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | : | Online and In-person at 89 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3NT, London, UK |
| Date | : | 29/06/2024 |
| Duration | : | 2-4pm BST / 9-11am EDT |
| Extra Info | : | Avoiding the Pain of the Unthinkable with Dr Thomas Reitter A fresh look at so-called negative therapeutic reactions and the compulsion to repeat. In this paper three aspects are explored which despite their scant reference in the psychoanalytic literature seem to be of major relevance for the frequent occurrence of negative phenomena such as so-called negative therapeutic reactions and the compulsion to repeat. The first aspect, the avoidance of psychic pain, plays the most significant role. The fact that differences in perception lead to a (re-)activation of repressed/rejected memories and of not yet represented memories (memories without recollection [Botella 2014]), can explain why better experiences are avoided and negative ones are repeated compulsively. Further aspects entering in the dynamics of repetition compulsion are the aesthetic conflict, as described by D. Meltzer (1988), the sacrificing of one’s own potentialities as a kind of expiation or reparation of unconscious guilt, and the fear of annihilating oblivion, which are observable in the clinical and societal context. Finally, technical issues are discussed resulting from the theoretical considerations, with particular emphasis on the analyst’s witnessing the attacks inflicted by pathological organizations of the mind on the patient’s perceptual apparatus. |
| Organised By | : | British Psychoanalytic Association |
| Web Link | : | https://www.tickettailor.com/events/britishpsychoanalyticassociation/1253949 |