Search

The authors argue that there are good reasons for seriously considering the dynamics of the peer group when discussing psychoanalytical case material. The setting and procedure have to protect and facilitate for the presenter and the group members to work together. The aim of this paper is to discuss the problems connected with presenting and discussing clinical psychoanalytical material in a peer group and to describe one such specific method, which the authors call the Weaving Thoughts method. The design is primarily inspired by Bion's formulation thoughts in search of a thinker. The group participants reflect on the presented clinical material in a way that the authors metaphorically describe as creating a weave of thoughts that emerges from the material. The aim of the method is to facilitate a work-group climate that allows thoughts to wander about, and to avert group members from debating and compromising the integrity of its members by letting basic assumptions come into power. The method is described from theoretical and practical points of view, with two illustrations of seminars according to this design and finally a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freud considered it a matter in need of investigation: until recently, however, Islam has been noticeably absent from the psychoanalytic arena. This paper aims, on one hand, to review current and rare psychoanalytic contemplations regarding Islam as a potential subject; and on the other hand to provide an analysis of Islam as the modern erotic of our times, looking at new forms of jihadists and extreme islamic groups. From this perspective, Islam is interpreted through the lens of a psychoanalytic discourse of the unconscious, one that must remain subversive and, at times, untranslatable and inaccessible, to allow the emergence of the autonomous subject. As the paper will demonstrate, for such a possibility to emerge, it is also necessary to consider the challenges of a Western liberal discourse imposed on Islam from various fronts, and particularly within the spirit of our times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes the exploration of the theme of change as regards the idea of death, customs and practices relative to the processes of mourning in various cultural contexts, and in the analysis of psychic processes, considering diverse positions in the many psychoanalytical models. Beginning from some historical and philosophical reflections, the paper puts at the centre of the examination, the relationship between the anguish of death and the psychic and cultural strategies with which these problems are faced on a psychoanalytical and anthropological level, to then evaluate how the rituals and the forms of mourning have changed in the world of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the Tavistock Clinic's use of psychoanalytic therapy groups for the treatment of traumatised refugees and asylum-seekers. A three-stage treatment is outlined: 2 or 3 preliminary individual interviews are followed -- for those who have little or no English -- by Specialist Refugees'Group, in which the traumas of life can be addressed in simple language, for a limited period of time (not more than one year). Translators are not used, in order to foster language-development. The third stage arrives when the refugee can move to a heterogeneous out-patient group which, in London, often includes a variety of nationalities, religions, cultures and psychological difficulties. Groups foster in their members the crucial element of "emotional capital", implying the capacity for sentient relationships; it thus complements the sociological and anthropological concept of "social capital", which involves belonging to an established and available social and cultural grouping. Clinical material illustrates the shift from a desperate and persecuted state to a more workable stance towards life, work, and the new society that constitutes the refugees' new home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]