All about 'attacks' and remaining 'mindless' to feelings - psychoanalytic reflections in playtherapy

Abstract

This dissertation has attempted to illustrate by way of a cross-section of selected clinical material from particular phases in one long-term playtherapy, the relationship between the phenomenon of non-verbal and verbal attacks on the therapist, the therapeutic process and Bion's concept of projective identification. It is maintained that these attacks illustrate Bion's psychoanalytic thoughts concerning projective identification as a primitive mode of communication of unbearable feelings which cannot be tolerated, but at the same time unconsciously desire expression. Providing the theory for this is Bion's formulation of the container - contained model of early object relations and his explicit appreciation of the importance of the nurturing object, originally the mother and now the therapist, in helping the infant/child process their experience by making their thoughts thinkable, rather than remaining mindless to emotional experiences. How children communicate their experiences in therapy is frequently beyond words and can only be gauged by means of symbolic expressions, nonverbal responses, and primitive projective identification processes. The therapist's countertransference responses served as a core diagnostic tool for evaluating the nature of the child's communications. Furthermore countertransference responses, provided a valuable tool in dealing with, and containing, the concrete quality of these projective identifications by offering transformative experiences through meaningful interpretations. It is speculated that the repeated experience of the therapist remaining a repository for the child's projective identifications, in spite of the relentless attacks, played a major role in the gradual steps towards integrating the containing aspects of both the therapist as a modified figure and the therapeutic process.