Why Smudge Race? Knoblauch, Steven H.
Psychoanalytic dialogues,
05/2023, Letnik:
33, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Dr. Gerhardt's use of the word smudge is taken up to build on Fanon's critique of the effects of discourse and recognition. The descriptions of Dr. Gerhardt's clinical encounters with three patients ...are used to raise questions about the discursive smudging of terms/categorical representations such as caste, class but most particularly the smudging and erasure of race. Using Fanon's critique of the cultural specificity of discourses as well as forms of recognition that build on and perpetuate colonizing relations, questions are addressed concerning how white innocence, as described by Wekker, repeatedly smudges possibilities for the kind of focus that this paper approaches theoretically but repeatedly misses or avoids clinically. Discursive contributions from Fanon, Gaztambide, Stephens, in particular, and others are suggested as directions for how the psychoanalytic paradigm might be renovated with an expanded lens to include what Fanon called the sociogenic, its effects on recognition of self and other, and what Freire described as conscientizacao, i.e., the conscious awareness of the impact of one's socio-political-economic history on one's present unconscious as well as conscious experience.
In our paper we discuss the therapeutic dilemma that arises when relational patterns and attachment bonding are based exclusively on positive transference. When the harmful absence of negative ...transference is overlooked, rage and aggression become sequestered in the unconscious field. It is also well understood in the broader psychoanalytic community that conflict and aggression, when experienced, acknowledged, and processed inside a safe therapeutic relationship, is a powerful antidote to helplessness and hopelessness. We also suggest that an overemphasis on the impact of trauma may run the risk of making it the "essence" of the therapy, unconsciously encouraging clients to feel nailed to their wounds, as if they have completely lost their capacity for self-agency. This is the story of Claire, a young woman with severe and chronic relational trauma with whom Adriano worked for six years. When both Adriano and Claire suffered a loss of faith and the therapy became stymied by its limitations in providing an answer to this dilemma, Adriano called upon the philosophy of Hegel, whose valuing of the restorative power of "tarrying" with despair gave him support and comfort as he struggled with his own helplessness and fear in the face of Claire's abject darkness. As a footnote, we are happy to report that at the time of this paper's publication, Claire is now a practising psychologist and has been married to her husband for three years.
These comments on the paper by Bakó and Zana will contemplate the authors' concept, the we reality, in the context of established psychoanalytic thought, especially in relation to the idea of the gap ...in the continuity of being as introduced by Winnicott (
1971
) and later developed by Green (
1986
,
1988
), Ogden (
2021
) and others. The functioning of we reality will also be demonstrated through the characters and plots of two olden-time Soviet movies directed by the renowned Gregory Chukhray, The Ballad of a Soldier (1959) and Clear Skies (1961).
In this reply to the generous and timely commentaries of my discussants, Steven Knoblauch, C.G. Lovett and Maria Saba, I make an attempt to address separately each of their thoughtful discussions ...concerning my unexpected encounter with social privilege and its impact on my clinical work. With much intellectual and emotional vitality, as well as associative poetic reverie - all three sources being extremely fecund - each discussant had something vital to offer in terms of my attempt to integrate personal/individual and social dynamics as having their own organization and meanings within the unconscious. To be sure, in that my original paper was a personal one of my journey of discovery of the need to work with my social privilege, all 3 discussants have a way of wrapping around my clinical work each with their own commitments, particular ways of thinking and passion as to what constitutes psychic growth and change.
This discussion of Bakó & Zana's paper, "The Reality of Trauma; the Trauma of Reality," will be organized in several parts: the first will summarize their promising ideas, integrating large systems ...with psychoanalysis; the second, will roughly outline some shortcomings; the third, will highlight some salient differences between the Hungarian and American socio-political contexts and provide a discussion of the author's evolution toward a socio-centric psychoanalysis. This conception of a socio-centric psychoanalysis, in addition to addressing the impact of the social unconscious on the traditional consulting room, seeks to move psychoanalysis outward - outward to group interventions and socio-political deliberation - culminating in two experimental practices: the "psycho-social citizenship dream group" and whole systems change relying on social dreaming and systems psychodynamics applied to "deliberative democracy."
Abstract This article reviews the results of a qualitative study of Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)'s experiences of discrimination in psychoanalytic professional organizations (PPOs) ...in the USA. The authors used thematic analysis to analyze the transcripts of semi‐structured interviews with n = 10 self‐identified BIPOC with prior experience in PPOs, including psychoanalytically‐oriented graduate programs, psychoanalytic institutes and other training programs, and professional membership organizations across the United States. A key finding is that a significant majority of interviewees ( n = 9) reported experiencing discrimination in these organizations, per their own definitions of the term “discrimination,” and described these experiences in considerable detail. The authors attempt to triangulate the findings of the present study in relation to the findings of the Holmes Commission and other existing literature on BIPOC experiences in psychoanalysis.
Background Several current theories emphasize the role of cognitive control in addiction. The present review evaluates neural deficits in the domains of inhibitory control and error processing in ...individuals with substance dependence and in those showing excessive addiction-like behaviours. The combined evaluation of event-related potential (ERP) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) findings in the present review offers unique information on neural deficits in addicted individuals. Methods We selected 19 ERP and 22 fMRI studies using stop-signal, go/no-go or Flanker paradigms based on a search of PubMed and Embase. Results The most consistent findings in addicted individuals relative to healthy controls were lower N2, error-related negativity and error positivity amplitudes as well as hypoactivation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), inferior frontal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These neural deficits, however, were not always associated with impaired task performance. With regard to behavioural addictions, some evidence has been found for similar neural deficits; however, studies are scarce and results are not yet conclusive. Differences among the major classes of substances of abuse were identified and involve stronger neural responses to errors in individuals with alcohol dependence versus weaker neural responses to errors in other substance-dependent populations. Limitations Task design and analysis techniques vary across studies, thereby reducing comparability among studies and the potential of clinical use of these measures. Conclusion Current addiction theories were supported by identifying consistent abnormalities in prefrontal brain function in individuals with addiction. An integrative model is proposed, suggesting that neural deficits in the dorsal ACC may constitute a hallmark neurocognitive deficit underlying addictive behaviours, such as loss of control.
This paper presents H. D.'s dialogue with Freud on the theme of time and timelessness. Freud presented a conception of time that varied in accordance with the various levels of consciousness. But ...while linear time is presented in Freud's writing as an essential part of development and mourning, timelessness has not been fully developed as such. A discussion of Freud's conception of time is followed by a reading of H. D.'s memoir Tribute to Freud. H. D. offers a series of reminiscences of different periods in her life, with an emphasis on her analysis and on Freud. The reading of the memoir presents an intense and stimulating narrative of the encounter with Freud at the time of analysis and in après-coup. This translation revolves around timelessness as a path into a realm of imagination and fantasy, not sufficiently acknowledged by Freud as such, yet crucial to H. D.'s quest for an innovative poetic voice. The significance and elusiveness of timelessness is discussed using ideas from André Green and Walter Benjamin.
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