The subject supposed to enjoy; Exploring the neurotic analyst’s role in the transference scenario of the perverse patient
Authors
O’Connor, John
Issue Date
2019
Degree
Higher Diploma in Arts in Counselling and Psychotherapy
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
Items in Esource are protected by copyright. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/copyright holder.
Abstract
It is posited that psychoanalysts who possess a neurotic personality structure are particularly prone to excitement from the transference scenario enacted by their perverse structured patients. The analyst’s excitement inevitably thwarts the analytic goal, yet it is argued that such analysts are unconsciously complicit in this scenario. The question remains as to exactly why the neurotic analyst propagates the failure of the work. A desk-based explorative study was undertaken to examine the nature of the neurotic structure, as understood through the Lacanian conceptualisation. Possible reasons for the neurotic analyst’s amenability to the pervert’s will were established. Additionally, inferences were drawn for how the perverse patient’s unique orientation to language and disavowal function as resistance to the work, which further facilitate the transference scenario. Finally, the psychoanalyst’s disposition to their own vocation and its related hazards therein informed how countertransference may aid the perverse transference scenario.