Biomedical subjects

N Symington

Publications and source records attributed to N Symington.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

The possibility of human freedom and its transmission (with particular reference to the thought of Bion).

In this paper I examine where Bion's theory of freedom fits within the traditional philosophical debate. I claim that the notion of freedom is the organizing centre of Bion's thought and that the traditional debate has focused with too great a concentration upon the will. I propose that underlying the workings of the will there is a fundamental substratum. This is governed either by the reaction model or by the response model. Freedom is coextensive with the latter mode of functioning but not with the former. The traditional debate needs to take this layer of personality functioning into account.

Gender Identity↗

PubMed1985

Phantasy effects that which it represents.

This paper sets out to show that phantasy does not just inhabit a mental realm within the individual. With the help of some clinical examples, it tries to demonstrate that phantasy is itself an active agent, so that the image within the phantasy is brought into effect through a subtle stimulation of the social environment. The paper ends by suggesting the way in which this can happen.

Cues↗

PubMed1981

The psychotherapy of a subnormal patient.

This paper is a resumé of the treatment of a man, aged 33 at the beginning of treatment, whose IQ was said to be 59. I had reason to believe that it was higher than this. The account covers a period of two years, during which time I saw him regularly once a week. At the end of two years, he told me he did not wish to come any more. I do not know whether the treatment was a success or a failure. My purpose in presenting this treatment is to stimulate further discussion on this subject, challenge the assumption that psychotherapy requires a normal or above-normal IQ to be successful, and to investigate the aetiology of mental retardation. This two-year period of treatment was extremely enlightening and opened many avenues of thought which are presented here only in the most embryonic form. So I start with the background to the case and some of the reasons why I decided to take him into treatment, then a summary of the course of the treatment and finally a discussion of some theoretical issues of psychological interest.

Adult↗