Loss and memorialization

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalytic theory
• Psychology of time
• Clinical psychology

Background:

• Explores Dana Birksted-Breen's concepts of linear vs. bidirectional time.
• Examines the role of unchanging elements in mental life as defenses against loss.
• Introduces memorial tokens as incorporated elements with sensory cores evoking larger scenes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To consider the function of unchanging elements in mental life.
• To investigate two types of memorial tokens: screen memories and recurrent dreams.
• To analyze their role in preserving analytic memories and evoking the analyst's presence, especially at termination.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis drawing on psychoanalytic concepts of temporality.
• Exploration of screen memories and recurrent dreams as specific memorial tokens.
• Clinical illustration using examples from patients nearing termination.

Main Results:

• Unchanging mental elements function as memorialization, defending against loss.
• Screen memories are inalterable, while recurrent dreams provide a frame for change.
• Both preserve analytic process memories and evoke the analyst's presence.

Conclusions:

• Memorial tokens, particularly screen memories and recurrent dreams, are crucial at termination.
• They serve as markers of approaching termination and defenses against the loss of the analyst.
• Clinical examples highlight their prominence and function in the analytic process.