An Example of the Clinical Use of Unconscious Phantasies: The Story of Jonathan

Drawing from the verbatim record of sessions, the author illustrates how he used the concept of unconscious phantasies in the grief work in a case of a child's trauma. He reviews the origins of the concept and its early tie to somatic life as well as its role in symbolization. Unconscious phant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian journal of psychoanalysis Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 48 - 65
Main Author Samy, Mounir, H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
French
Published Montréal Canadian Psychoanalytic Societ 01.04.2020
Canadian Psychoanalytic Society
Subjects
Children & youth
Grief
Symbolism
Trauma
Unconsciousness
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Summary:Drawing from the verbatim record of sessions, the author illustrates how he used the concept of unconscious phantasies in the grief work in a case of a child's trauma. He reviews the origins of the concept and its early tie to somatic life as well as its role in symbolization. Unconscious phantasies are understood developmentally within a large spectrum of psychic events from healthy to maladaptive. In a case of trauma, early unconscious phantasies expressed somatically may play an important role in the attempt to restore a crushed symbolic system and allow enhanced verbal representation. Further adult clinical examples are presented.
ISSN:1195-3330