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J L Mitrani

Publications and source records attributed to J L Mitrani.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

'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'.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

The case of 'The flying Dutchman' and the search for a containing object.

In this clinical communication, detailed excerpts from a nine-year analysis are presented to illustrate the importance of 'taking the transference', the significance of Bion's concept of the 'container' and his extension of the work of Melanie Klein to include projective identification as a form of primitive communication, as well as emphasising the patient's search for the coherence and meaning in his experience. The author further demonstrates that such cases require that the analyst be willing to accept a given role--in the transitional space of the transference/countertransference--and that (s)he be able to verbalise interpretively how (s)he is being experienced, so that a containing membrane between inside and outside, between fantasy and reality, and between self and other may gradually evolve in the mind of the analysand. Throughout the paper various technical points are highlighted, especially as these relate the analytic task of introjecting certain aspects of the patient's inner world and allowing these to resonate with those respective elements of the analyst's inner world.

Dreams↗
PubMed1998

Unbearable ecstasy, reverence and awe, and the perpetuation of an "aesthetic conflict".

The author discusses Tustin's concept of the unbearable ecstasy of at-one-ment and her attentiveness to the importance of the containing function of the mother, Bion's distinction between "reverence and awe" and defensive idealization, and Meltzer's notion of the "aesthetic conflict." Each theme has bearing upon the provocation or mitigation of envy, the process of introjection and the development of both healthy and pathological internal object relations, the nature of the superego, and self-esteem. Clinical material is presented to illustrate the phenomena described, and conclusions which may have an impact upon our attitude and technique in psychoanalysis are put forward.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Toward an understanding of unmentalized experience.

The term unmentalized experience is defined, elaborated, explicated, and illustrated with clinical examples from the analysis of adult patients. The origins of the author's conceptualization of the term are traced from Freud's early notion of the "anxiety equivalent" through the work of present-day object relations theorists. A model for the somatic recording of early pre- and postnatal experience is derived from Stern's research in the field of infant development, and some implications for treatment are noted.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Deficiency and envy: some factors impacting the analytic mind from listening to interpretation.

This paper examines some aspects of an unconscious process developing within the mind of the analyst; a process affecting both the way in which the analyst listens to the patient's material and the interpretations subsequently formulated. The paper highlights the problem of the analyst's 'mis-use' of theory as a protection against unbearable feelings of psychic pain, evoked by what is perhaps the most essential tool of psychoanalysis: the analyst's emotional contact with the patient's early experiences in infancy. Both the 'deficiency theory' and the concept of 'primary envy' are called into question during this inquiry. Some of the most recent work of the 'post-Kleinians (from Bion through to the present-day workers in England as well as in the Americas) is reviewed. Clinical examples, both from the author's own experience and from previously published material, are considered as illustrative of some factors which may impact upon the mind of the psychoanalyst from listening and interpretation.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

On the survival function of autistic manoeuvres in adult patients.

This paper highlights features of the work on autism of Tustin and others pertaining to the analysis of adult patients. Several clinical illustrations from the analysis of neurotic, borderline and psychotic patients emphasizing the survival function of autistic shapes, objects and delusions are presented. The need for further discrimination between autistic states of mind and other primitive mental states is recommended.

Adult↗