Primitive Mental States: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of the Origins of Meaning

241 Pages·2010·1.122 MB·English

by  Jane Van Buren (ed.), Shelley Alhanati (ed.)

Primitive Mental States
Traditionalpsychoanalysisreliesonthepresenceofcertainmeaning-making
capacities in the patient for its effectiveness. Primitive Mental States
examines how particular capacities, including those for symbolizing, fan-
tasizing, dreaming,experiencing and finding meaningsin those experiences,
can be taken for granted. Many of us lack these capacities in certain
dimensions of our minds, making traditional psychoanalysis ineffective.
Inthisbook,internationalcontributorsarebroughttogethertoconsidera
radical evolution in contemporary psychoanalytic theory developed from a
combination of ultrasound studies, infant analysis, and observation of
mothersandbabies.Thesefindingsdemonstratehowmuchmentallifeexists
evenbefore birthandconsidersunevolved, unborn andbarely bornaspects
of the self such as the birth of emotion and the birth of alpha functioning.
Topics covered include:
• prenatal imprints on the mind and body
• difficult to treat patients
• non-verbal, non-symbolic, disembodied states of being
• early relational and attachment trauma.
Illustrated throughout with original data and extensive clinical discussions
from some of the biggest names in the field, Primitive Mental States will be
a useful resource for students and seasoned analysts alike.
Jane Van Buren is a psychoanalyst in full time private practice in Los
Angeles, California and a training and supervising analyst at the Psycho-
analytic Centre of California. She has written widely on the themes of
women and children, culture and psychoanalysis.
Shelley Alhanati is a psychoanalyst in northern California, and is a super-
vising analyst and faculty member of the Psychoanalytic Institute of
Northern California. She has lectured and written widely on various topics
inpsychoanalytictheoryaswellasonfetal,infant,andchilddevelopmental
research.
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Primitive Mental States
A Psychoanalytic Exploration of the
Origins of Meaning
Edited by Jane Van Buren and
Shelley Alhanati
Firstpublished2010
byRoutledge
27ChurchRoad,Hove,EastSussexBN32FA
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,anInformabusiness
(cid:216)2010Selectionandeditorialmatter,JaneVanBurenandShelleyAlhanati;
individualchapters,thecontributors.
TypesetinTimesbyGarfieldMorgan,Swansea,WestGlamorgan
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyTJInternationalLtd,Padstow,
Cornwall
PaperbackcoverdesignbyAndyWard
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
anyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwriting
fromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
Libraryof CongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Primitivementalstates/editedbyJaneVanBurenandShelleyAlhanati.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-415-46893-0(hbk.) – ISBN978-0-415-46894-7(pbk.)1.
Psychoanalysis.2.Motherandchild–Psychologicalaspects.I.VanBuren,Jane.
II.Alhanati,Shelley.
BF173.P67152009
150.19'5–dc22
2009022148
ISBN:978-0-415-46893-0(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-415-46894-7(pbk)
This book is dedicated to James Grotstein, whose boundless
generosity and creativity have profoundly influenced several
generations of analysts
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Contents
List of Contributors ix
Foreword x
Introduction: Primitive mental states and the origins of
meaning 1
1 ‘‘Orphans of O’’: The negative therapeutic reaction and the
longing for the childhood that never was 8
JAMESS.GROTSTEIN
2 Experiencing emotions, avoiding emotions: Between Hercules
and Puss-in-Boots 31
ANTONINOFERRO
3 Incorporation of an invasive object 47
PAULWILLIAMS
4 The theory of transformations and autistic states. Autistic
transformations: A proposal 64
CELIAFIXKORBIVCHER
5 A binocular view of adhesion: From prenatal contiguity to
postnatal appetite 80
MARIANNEROBINSON
6 The trauma of conception: Cellular memory 97
JOANNAWILHEIM
7 Thoughts without a thinker 112
JANEVANBUREN
viii Contents
8 Nothing comes from nothing: Failed births, dead babies 122
FRANCISCOGONZALEZ
9 The origins of the unconscious: Framework of the future mind 135
ARNALDOCHUSTER
10 Pre-verbal language in the treatment of a mother and infant:
A clinical exploration 155
ANNIEREINER
11 Transformations of early infantile experience: A six-month-old
in psychoanalysis 175
JOHANNORMAN
12 ‘Talk to me baby, tell me what’s the matter now’: Semiotic
and developmental perspectives on communication in
psychoanalytic infant treatment 197
BJo¨RNSALOMONSSON
Index 219
Contributors
Arnaldo Chuster ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Psychoanalytic Association of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Antonino Ferro ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the Italian
Psychoanalytical Society.
Celia Fix Korbivcher (celiafi[email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Brazilian Psychoanalytical Society.
Francisco Gonzalez ([email protected]) is a Psychoanalyst at the Psycho-
analytic Institute of Northern California.
James S. Grotstein ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Psychoanalytic Center of California and the New Center for Psycho-
analysis.
Johan Norman (deceased) was a former President of the Swedish
Psychoanalytic Society.
Annie Reiner ([email protected]) is a faculty member of the Psycho-
analytic Center of California.
Marianne Robinson ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society.
Bjo¨rn Salomonsson ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Swedish Psychoanalytic Society.
Jane Van Buren ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Psychoanalytic Center of California.
Joanna Wilheim ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the
Brazilian Psychoanalytic Society, Sa˜o Paolo.
Paul Williams ([email protected]) is a Training Analyst at the British
Psycho-Analytical Society.