After hours: temporal developments at the edge of the analytic session

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalytic theory
• Psychodynamic psychology
• Clinical case studies

Background:

• Explores the psychoanalytic treatment of a rigid, schizoid patient.
• Focuses on the patient's evolving behavior within the therapeutic setting.

Observation:

• The patient began arriving late for psychoanalytic sessions.
• The patient intentionally missed an entire session, arriving only after its scheduled end.

Findings:

• The patient's lateness and session-missing were interpreted as an attempt to manipulate the analytic frame.
• This behavior suggested a primitive experience of time, aiming to alter the analyst's temporal perception.
• The patient sought to create a 'nontime' sanctuary within treatment.

Implications:

• Understanding such temporal disruptions offers insight into primitive defenses and symbolic representation.
• The analyst's response to frame-bending is crucial for therapeutic progress.
• This case highlights the complex interplay between subjective time experience and the psychoanalytic process.