Sexual Addiction: Psychoanalytic Concepts and the Art of Supervision

114 Pages·2021·2.197 MB·English

by  Volkan, Vamik

Understanding the psychology of addiction
V Sexual
through the lens of supervision.
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L
‘Vamık Volkan continues to defy the law of gravity, as he further elevates our field K
with his latest, and, arguably, best clinical book to date. Drawing upon a lifetime of A
N
accumulated wisdom, he gives us a bird’s eye view into his work as a supervisor of an
ADDICTION
analytic candidate’s case of a traumatized woman. Speaking clearly and directly to
the reader, we follow the successful course of both the analysis and the evolution of
the analyst’s professional identity. This beautifully written book is sensitive, scholarly,
and remarkably accessible. It exemplifies Volkan’s extraordinary generativity, and is
mandatory reading for analytic therapists at all levels.’
Ira Brenner, M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, and Director Emeritus,
Psychotherapy Training Program, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia;
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Sidney Kimmel Medical School
of Thomas Jefferson University
‘It is a joy to read this book, especially in a time where psychoanalysis is often
considered an outdated method. This book proves the opposite. Vamık Volkan
describes the psychoanalytic process of a female patient who presented considerable S
sexual addiction in her daily life. Dr. Volkan was the supervisor of her analyst, who E
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still was in training. The illustration of the process of supervision enriches this case
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study outstandingly, as the reader learns not only what Dr. Volkan tells his supervisee A
but also why he does it. Demonstrating how the patient´s problems and reactions L
affect both analyst and supervisor emotionally, he skillfully uses the material to help A
(train) his supervisee to develop a stable psychoanalytic identity. D
D
I
‘Treating patients with an addiction is a challenge for both analyst and method. Dr. C
Volkan provides an understanding of the psychodynamics of nonchemical addiction, T
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giving many case examples from his own practice. He discusses how deprivations O
and fixations in early childhood may cause symptoms like sexual addiction later N

in life. The reader gains insight into the use of expanded analytic methods when
treating patients with preoedipal dynamics. Dr. Volkan unfolds his understanding of
psychoanalytic theory and its concepts as they have developed in his mind during
decades of working as an analyst, supervisor, teacher, and author. This book will be
a treasure in any psychoanalytic training program.’
Kristina Saraneva, Clinical Psychologist, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst,
Therapeia Institute (IFPS), Helsinki Finland
VAMIK D. VOLKAN is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of over fifty
psychoanalytic and psychopolitical books. He is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry
at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; an Emeritus Training and Supervising
Psychoanalytic Concepts
Analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Washington, DC; and President
Emeritus of the International Dialogue Initiative. and the Art of Supervision
Cover image: designed by Nilgün Güney,
a well-known Cypriot Turkish painter and artist
VAMIK D. VOLKAN
firingthemind.com
SEXUAL ADDICTION

SEXUAL ADDICTION
Psychoanalytic Concepts
and the Art of Supervision
Vamık D. Volkan
First published in 2021 by
Phoenix Publishing House Ltd
62 Bucknell Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire OX26 2DS
Copyright © 2021 by Vamık D. Volkan
The right of Vamık D. Volkan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-
copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-912691-38-8
Typeset by vPrompt eServices Pvt Ltd, India
www.firingthemind.com
With fond memories and admiration this book is dedicated
to those I taught and supervised throughout my career

Contents
About the author ix
About this book xi
1. A “hunter” of men 1
2. Psychoanalytic perspectives on addictions 7
3. Built-in transference 13
4. Twinning 17
5. Judy’s analysis begins: Establishing a psychoanalytic
foundation and linking interpretations 23
6. The first dream and Judy’s first year of analysis 29
7. Animals, birds, fish, or insects “on the couch” 35
8. Judy’s dog 43
9. Analysands’ actions 49
10. Therapeutic play 53
11. Therapeutic neutrality and countertransference 59
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viii contents
12. Reaching P and renovating a new house 63
13. Finding R 69
14. W hat happened to Judy after I stopped working with
Dr. Rowan? 77
References 83
Index 91
About the author
Vamık D. Volkan is an emeritus professor of psychiatry at the
University of Virginia, an emeritus training and supervising analyst at
the Washington-Baltimore Psychoanalytic Institute and an emeritus
Senior Erik Erikson Scholar at the Erikson Institute of the Austen
Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He is the emeritus president
of the International Dialogue Initiative and a former president of
the Turkish-American Neuropsychiatric Society, the International
Society of Political Psychology, the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society,
and the American College of Psychoanalysts.
Dr. Volkan was the founder and the director of the Center for
the Study of Mind and Human Interaction (CSMHI) at the School of
Medicine, University of Virginia. CSMHI applied a growing theoretical
and field-proven base of knowledge to issues such as ethnic tension,
racism, terrorism, societal trauma, immigration, mourning, trans-
generational transmissions and leader–follower relationships. CSMHI
conducted years-long unofficial diplomatic dialogues between Americans
and Soviets, Russians and prominent representatives in the Baltic States,
Croats and Bosniaks, Georgians and South Ossetians, Turks and Greeks,
and studied post-revolution or post-war societies such as Albania and
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