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The construction of therapeutic allegories

The construction of therapeutic allegories Henry W. Kalt One of Freud's most significant discoveries was his uncovering of primary process thinking and his subsequent distinction between primary process thought and secondary process thought. However, Freud, perhaps because of his Victorian upbringing or his firsthand witnessing of the primitive power of the primary processes, conceived the secondary processes to be more desirable. Because of this bias, I believe Freud conceived of therapy as moving in only one direction, namely, in the direction of the expansion of the ego and the domination of the psyche by secondary process think- ing. Translated into technique, these goals meant bringing unconscious meanings into consciousness where they could be understood and ulti- mately controlled by the secondary processes. Thus, therapy was conceived by Freud as a process whereby a catharsis of emotions and a liberation of libidinal energies could be directed toward realistic ends as defined by the secondary processes. From an objective standpoint though, there is nothing to recommend the secondary processes over the primary processes. That a patient is bet- ter offso dominated is a subjective appraisal-though it is one I agree with. Nevertheless, because of the value we place upon the secondary pro- cesses, I believe that http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

The construction of therapeutic allegories

Kalt, Henry W.
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis , Volume 46 (1): 12 – Mar 1, 1986
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References (7)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1986 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF01254622
Publisher site
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Abstract

Henry W. Kalt One of Freud's most significant discoveries was his uncovering of primary process thinking and his subsequent distinction between primary process thought and secondary process thought. However, Freud, perhaps because of his Victorian upbringing or his firsthand witnessing of the primitive power of the primary processes, conceived the secondary processes to be more desirable. Because of this bias, I believe Freud conceived of therapy as moving in only one direction, namely, in the direction of the expansion of the ego and the domination of the psyche by secondary process think- ing. Translated into technique, these goals meant bringing unconscious meanings into consciousness where they could be understood and ulti- mately controlled by the secondary processes. Thus, therapy was conceived by Freud as a process whereby a catharsis of emotions and a liberation of libidinal energies could be directed toward realistic ends as defined by the secondary processes. From an objective standpoint though, there is nothing to recommend the secondary processes over the primary processes. That a patient is bet- ter offso dominated is a subjective appraisal-though it is one I agree with. Nevertheless, because of the value we place upon the secondary pro- cesses, I believe that

Journal

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 1986

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

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