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On love and lust in erotic transference
1Menninger Clinic, Topeka, KS 66601-0829.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1994
Summary
Intense erotic transference in psychoanalysis presents challenges for analysts, potentially disrupting their dual awareness. Understanding love and lust dynamics is crucial for managing patient enactments during therapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychoanalysis
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychodynamic Therapy
Background:
- Erotic transference is a complex phenomenon in psychoanalytic treatment.
- It involves intense patient desires for love and sexual gratification directed at the analyst.
Observation:
- These desires can lead to enactments within the therapeutic setting.
- Enactments range from overt affairs to subtle forms of transference gratification.
- Analysts must maintain dual awareness—simultaneously participating and observing—to manage these dynamics.
Findings:
- Erotic transference can impair the analyst's ability to maintain therapeutic objectivity.
- The components of love and lust within erotic transference may be dissociated.
- Dissociated love and lust can evoke distinct and varied responses in the analyst.
Implications:
- Effective management of erotic transference is vital for successful psychoanalytic outcomes.
- Understanding the nuances of love and lust in transference is key for analyst training.
- Further research into analyst reactions to dissociated transference elements is warranted.