In an interesting paper. Benedetti supervised the case of “In- Felix, the cat.”
He describes how the power of the split and removed part can reach the psychotherapist unconscious.
Benedetti conclusion: “I would be interested to know if others have had similar experiences at the beginning of one analysis…….” Is an open question for every therapist.
“An interesting detail of this clinical history is the curious coincidence between the initial experience of the therapist, which is that Felix had the face of a cat, and the patient's dream.
In the dream the hood of his car is full of cats that he tries desperately to hide, despite the protests of the therapist, who is next to him in the dream. The strange coincidence actually shows the truth of Freud's argument: the removed, defines our being even more of what is conscious and idealized. The cats were chosen by Felix, for imprecise reasons, to symbolize the split and repressed parts. Felix describes his aversion to these animals and declares that the very idea of touching a cat is horrifying for him.
Well, exactly that makes Felix a cat!
Of course I don’t believe that Felix would have aroused such a physical impression if the therapist would have met him by chance outside the analytic setting. It was the analytic contact with the patient that allowed to the analyst to immediately grasp, the unconscious split-off part. The repressed and therefore more significant part can reach the analytical unconscious by force of physical perception”.
Alessandra Calculli will present a clinical case trying to answers to the Benedetti’s question.
Simone Donnari will present a session with a schizophrenic patient.
Starting from his drawing, transfert and countertransference are embodied through a technological system wich allows an immersion in the symbol just using body movements.
Art therapy , Group analytic and psychoanalytic group therapies , Individual psychodynamic therapies
