Kairos and chronos: clinical-psychoanalytic reflections on time

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychoanalysis
• Psychodynamic Theory
• Philosophy of Time

Background:

• Explores the concept of "time" within clinical psychoanalysis.
• Introduces related concepts: timelessness, multiple temporal experiences, and Nachträglichkeit (deferred action).
• Examines a patient's breakdown, originating in early life and manifesting as an autistoid perversion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define "time" in clinical-psychoanalytic terms.
• To analyze the emergence of temporal dimensions during psychoanalytic treatment.
• To understand the psychic reality of breakdown and the formation of time, times, and space.

Main Methods:

• Case study of a patient's breakdown and treatment.
• Analysis of the transference phenomenon and "presence moment."
• Examination of the "presentational symbol" and its role in psychic realization.

Main Results:

• Two distinct time dimensions emerged: a timeless breakdown state and the unfolding of temporal experiences.
• The "presence moment" facilitated the psychic realization of breakdown and the emergence of time, times, and space.
• Discrepancies noted in the experience of time and space between analyst and analysand, with the patient linking past to place.

Conclusions:

• Psychoanalytic treatment can facilitate the emergence of psychic time from a timeless breakdown state.
• Distinguishing absent from retraumatizing objects is crucial for the patient's temporal understanding and healing.
• The "present absent object" transforms into a future-oriented object through therapeutic use and understanding.