journal article
Download Only Collection
Home
Mantilla, Carla; Traverso, Pierina; Janto, Carolina; Marinelli, Francesco; Lancho, Paz
doi: 10.1080/02668734.2025.2577705pmid: N/A
This systematic single-case study aims to articulate the gestural-affective interaction and verbal exchange between patient and therapist during episodes of representational change in a depressed young adult consulting at a university health service. Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy sessions conducted in a virtual setting were coded with the Generic Change Indicators System to identify Change Episodes, which were later processed with the Face Reader Recognition Software to observe their gestural-affective correlates. The data was analyzed under an emergent Thematic Analysis. Four implicit relational transactions were identified as relevant milestones to account for the patient process of affect/discourse integration: Balance, Discernment, Marking and Synchrony. The results show the ability of the therapeutic relationship to act as a resonant affective device, enabling the connection of discourse with the emotional domain, contributing with the elaboration of the Interpersonal Affective Focus and increasing the patient’s affective flexibility. The gestural-affective therapeutic interaction works as a relational context that enables the co-construction of what is traditionally understood as insight.
Fuggle, Peter; Hollenstein, Michael; Huter, Beate; Richards, Sarah; Haider, Andy
doi: 10.1080/02668734.2025.2603889pmid: N/A
The potential value of mentalizing to leadership has been previously described and the purpose of this paper is to consider how this may work in practice. The authors have provided mentalization based leadership for over ten years in different teams and this paper shares our learning about mentalization based methods that have proved useful for this purpose. The intention is to illustrate that a mentalizing approach to leadership is not just about being a sensitive manager but involves specific ways of attending to mental states that support effective team practice. This approach makes explicit mentalizing a core aspect of all aspects of team functioning so that it is integrated into team meetings, case discussion, supervision and professional meetings with other teams. Examples are provided as to how to hold a clear boundary between mentalizing as a treatment and mentalizing as a way of supporting work interactions. Providing mentalization informed leadership is considered with respect to organisational power, professional inclusion, the need for safe practice and other core dilemmas of clinical team practice.
doi: 10.1080/02668734.2025.2603887pmid: N/A
An abridged version of this paper was presented at the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s 33rd World Congress (Austria, June 2025). In this paper, I pose and respond from several angles to the following question: Is it possible to kill oneself? The purpose is twofold: first, to elaborate on psychoanalytic theory pertaining to suicide; second, albeit a primary concern, to promote interdisciplinary dialogue with wider suicide prevention research and practice. The question is used to orient a critique of the current mainstream suicide prevention paradigm that is dominated by positivist, risk-based models. I address the difficulties this presents for both patient and clinician and plea for a deeper theoretical engagement with the clinical phenomenon of suicide, one that resists reducing the act to a symptom of mental illness. I use the question to offer a clinical contribution to working in the aftermath of a non-fatal suicide attempt; specifically, using a Freudian and Lacanian framework, I examine the disjunction between the individual’s act and her purported intent (or lack thereof), arguing that psychoanalysis is in a unique position to engage with such instances.
doi: 10.1080/02668734.2025.2607380pmid: N/A
In this paper, I explore a clinical case through the lens of psychoanalytic theory, drawing on the works of Anzieu, Bick, and Kernberg. By integrating theoretical insights with clinical observations, I aim to illustrate my patient’s struggle with the sensation of having thin, wounded skin—lacking its protective upper layer—a ‘skinless self’ marked by profound vulnerability and self-injury as a means of regaining control and establishing a sense of grounding. Furthermore, I examine the therapeutic process, emphasizing the roles of transference, countertransference, and the creation of a holding environment in reconstructing the Skin Ego. This paper highlights the necessity of establishing a containing environment before engaging in deeper interpretations, demonstrating how psychoanalytic psychotherapy can help stabilize a fragmented self. Ultimately, this case underscores the importance of addressing fundamental deficiencies in self-containment when working with patients experiencing severe personality pathology.
Showing 1 to 6 of 6 Articles