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There is a legal connotation of the term enactment as a law, a mandate or a decree -- an order that must be obeyed, which was also taken into account. The psychoanalytical concept incorporated both meanings. There was also the fact that, by definition, both members of the dyad participate in an enactment and are insufficiently aware of what is happening. The analyst is driven by the relationship, subject to his own internal issues and blind spots. In contrast, in acting out the patient’s discharges can be noted by the analyst, as he does not allow himself to get involved in them. Many analysts have described situations similar to those we call enactment , but without calling them such. The concept made it possible to bring together similar phenomena that had been associated with Freud and elaborated by psychoanalysts of various theoretical orientations in such terms as repetition, re-living, externalizing, acting-out, etc. The term gradually became part of the common ground of psychoanalysis. Recent discussions and studies can be found in Paz (2007), Ivey (2008), Mann & Cunningham (2009), Borensztejn (2009), Stern (2010), Waska (2011), Cassorla (2012), Sapisochin (2013), Bohleber et al (2013), and Katz, (2014). Enactment s vary in quality and intensity due to the different degrees of deficits, or impairment in the capacity to symbolize. The mildest might be “actualizations” (Sandler, 1976) that gratify transferential wishes toward the analyst. The most malignant involves an impaired capacity of the analyst, leading to behavioral abuses of his or her authority that go far beyond the limits of what would be considered analytical treatment (Bateman, 1998). The psychoanalytical literature discusses whether enactment s are harmful or are necessary and useful. The trend is to consider that enactment s arise naturally when an analyst is faced with traumatic, psychotic or borderline configurations, even when neurotic aspects predominate. They are certainly useful after they have been understood, and this understanding can only come about after they have been identified, that is, in Nachträglich keit fashion ( après coup, or in deferred action). Enactment s that are not adequately identified block the analytical process and can destroy it. III. A. North American Evolution of the Concept: Additional Influence of the British Object Relations Projective identification is an important element in enactment. It was first described by Klein (1946/1952), who defined it as an unconscious fantasy consisting of splitting and projection of good and bad parts of the ego into the object. Winnicott also used the concept. Bion (1962) expanded projective identification to include pre-verbal and/or pre-symbolic communication between mother and infant. To Bion’s concept, Joseph (1992) added the subject’s active-if-subtle behaviors (alongside his intrapsychic machinations), which work to produce an atmosphere in the room and to evoke in the analyst (object) certain emotions, sensations and ideas that might prod him or her toward behaving in otherwise unusual ways, ways that are nonetheless consistent with the internal schema of the analysand (subject). O’Shaughnessy (1992), describes two kinds of enactments, ‘enclaves’ and ‘excursions’, which may have destructive potential for the analytic process. The ‘enclave’ ensues when the analyst
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