Biomedical subjects

R Horacio Etchegoyen

Publications and source records attributed to R Horacio Etchegoyen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Melanie Klein in Buenos Aires: beginnings and developments.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Freud was known and quoted in Latin America by an elite of enlightened minds. In the 1940s a convergence took place in Buenos Aires of European exiles with local pioneers, and thus the Argentine Psychoanalytical Association was founded in 1942. Since then psychoanalysis has grown steadily and has spread into hospitals and universities, influencing culture at large. The socioeconomic situation of that time permitted this phenomenon to develop, to the astonishment of observers. In this paper the authors study the strong influence of Kleinian thought during the first 30 years of this development. The original works of local thinkers constitute the intellectual capital that sustains the idea of an 'Argentine psychoanalytic school'. During the 1970s, both society and psychoanalysis endured deep and complex changes. Lacan's teachings gained support and Klein's influence began to decline. At present the Buenos Aires Kleinians keep working, while their relationship with Lacanians and other schools is calmer. Respectful discussions became thus possible, oriented to strictly scientific differences.

Argentina↗

PubMed2003

Erna and Melanie Klein.

Erna was one of the child patients treated by Melanie Klein in Berlin, employing her recently discovered play technique. Since Erna died in Chile, the authors considered the IPA Congress in Santiago an opportunity to present a paper as a homage both to Erna and, especially, to Klein. She learned much from that very disturbed child, which she later used to sustain the ongoing development of her theories. The paper explores biographic data relevant to understanding both the case and the theories. It analyses the case material to follow Klein in the discovery and the handling of the child's transference and the harsh expressions of hate, jealousy and envy, which are brought in, with sad consequences, by strong persecutory feelings. Klein's comparison of this case with that of Freud's Wolf-man is also considered, mostly to show that the similarities were less than originally claimed, and that Klein, perhaps, was introducing a theoretic shift which led her technique to gradually change from 'Nachträglichkeit' to the 'signification-resignification' pair, akin to Strachey's concept of the mutative interpretation. Lastly, the comprehension of Erna's strong psychotic traits and the links with later developments of the theory on psychosis are studied.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Salieri's dilemma: a counterpoint between envy and appreciation.

Taking as its starting point Klein's concepts of 1957, this paper stresses certain characteristics of envy that have not yet been taken into account in psychoanalysis. Klein described the conflict between envy and gratitude as inherent in the human being; she suggested an interesting link between envy and admiration, but never developed this idea in her theory. The hypothesis that we put forward in this paper is the existence of a particular intolerance-related to envy-of one's own capacity to recognise the valuable aspects of the object. This situation leads to the paradox that the same faculty that allows the patient to appreciate the good qualities of the object is at the same time the source of unbearable pain. The capacity to recognise the good aspects of the object-whether they are perceived or attributed by projective identification-cannot be accepted as a valuable aspect of the self and is taken as a proof of the self 's unworthiness. We think that the description of this intolerance towards admirative appreciation introduces a change in the understanding of idealization simply as a defence against envy and enriches the conflict expressed in the immediacy of the transference - countertransference.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Anxiety, nostalgia and melancholy. A few remarks on psychoanalysis and tango].

Our work is based on the application of psychoanalytic techniques, in order to unveil this cultural phenomenon called tango, related with sexuality and unconscious processes. As a way of introduction, it deals with a brief theory of the birth of tango, the possible terminological source of its name, its main creators and interpreters, as well as the chronological classification into the first wave tangos, Guardia Vieja, and the newer wave tangos, Guardia Nueva. The former ones were awash with festive themes of the centennial years, expressed in behaviors that denote sexuality and love, whereas the latter ones, expose the great bewilderment of the thirties' crisis, due to the imminent downfall of the country, the denunciation of materialism, the crumbling of ideas; which led up to feelings of utter pessimism, loneliness and abandonment. From this point onwards, through the use of techniques provided by psychoanalysis applied to tango lyrics, we are able to unravel the unconscious processes of the drama of its characters; the immigrant, hopeful and at same time nostalgic for the loss of his mother country; the porteno -urban man from Buenos Aires city- who, overwhelmed by immigrants, has to give way to the new compatriots; the inland inhabitant, who was dragged to the city because of the new conditions of rural work; and finally the conventillo, tenement house, as a melting pot that fulfilled the integration of these groups. Like in a painter's palette, which contains various colors and shades, the interpretations about nostalgia, grief and loneliness become apparent, along with the father-son rivalry, the conflict with the absent mother, the relationship between sexes, male chauvinism, infatuation, identity, the fear of death, the rebirth to a new life, the passage from gaucho to guapo, from a shrewd horseman to a daring, bullying braggart.

Anxiety↗