Study Group: Unrepresented Mental States

Unrepresented Mental States  with Matt Shatzman, MA, LPC

This study group is the result of clinical work with several patients whose capacity to access the chain of representation, symbolization, and verbal connections has proved both challenging and exceptionally intriguing. The primitive mental states alluded to here are inscribed in the mind but not necessarily represented. Making contact with and facilitating development of these states of mind remain somewhat mysterious and lay at the frontier of our clinical theory and technique. Using the text, “Unrepresented States and the Construction of Meaning,” as a springboard for learning and discussion, we will take stock of current theoretical and technical considerations in working with non-neurotic patients and areas of mind where psychic representation remains absent or weak. The text is comprised of 12 chapters from 11 different authors and builds on the seminal works of Freud, Bion, and Green. 

 We will begin meeting in November with a monthly frequency at one and a half to two hours each, most likely during a mid-week evening or Sunday afternoon/evening (TBD). Readings may be augmented and/or modified based on the evolution of the group. The intention of the study group is to bring together curious thinkers who can learn from one another. This will not be a classroom format, but rather an open forum for discourse and learning.  

THIS STUDY GROUP IS AVAILABLE FOR ADVANCED CANDIDATES, ANALYSTS AND FACULTY ONLY.

 Fine print: the text can be purchased online. CEU’s will be included. Cost for attending the group is $50 (covering administrative costs for the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute’s work affiliated with organizing and facilitating CEUs). The society will cover the fee for Society Members’ registration. Class is limited to 12 members. Participation is available to faculty, analysts, and candidates of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. Classes will meet via Zoom though may include in-person meetings once it is safe to do so regarding the current pandemic. 

Text: Unrepresented States and the Construction of Meaning: Clinical and Theoretical Contributions. Edited by Howard B. Levine, Gail S. Reed, and Dominique Scarfone. London: Karnac, 2013 

SOCIETY MEMBERS – REGISTER HERE: https://www.stlpi.org/society-professional-development-registration-form/

Non-Society Members Register HERE:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  

Participants will be able to: 

1. Describe the theoretical historical context (topographic model of the mind) from which the theory of unrepresented mental states come from. 

1. Identify at least two clinical shortcomings of applying models of conflicted mental states to patients with unrepresented mental states. 

1. Discern the possible impacts of a failure to represent a primary object on subsequent development of the personality. 

1. Describe Green’s reformulation of Freud’s death drive theory. 

1. Clarify what the term “representation” means according to Levine. 

1. Identify at least one clinical implication and challenge working with unrepresented mental states, according to Levine. 

1. Distinguish between a “thinking mind” and a “non-thinking mind,” according to Scarfone. 

1. Relate the evolution of Freud’s theories to both representational and non-representational aspects of the human mind. 

1. Describe the Botella’s notions of “figurability” and “the work of figurability.” 

1. Describe the state of “regedience” and the “memory barrier,” according to the Botella’s. 

1. Identify at least one theoretical complication when extending the concepts of “figurability” and reverie to Freud’s metapsychology of the emergence of unconscious derivatives.  

1. Highlight the interplay of “modes of representation” and levels of development. 

1. Compare and contrast the defense of splitting with the concept of non-representation. 

1. Describe Green’s idea of a “double transference” and it’s relation to the use of language as self-organizing. 

1. Describe the interplay, according to Aisenstein, of drive, representation, and the demand of representation. 

1.  Describe what Andre means by “the extent of the Psyche’s territory varies for each individual.” 

1. Articulate Andre’s argument that, “nothing psychic – however primitive, ‘unthinkable,’ or bodily it may be – can escape representation. 

1. Explain how “dreams-for-two” expands the thinking capacity and the work of the analytic pair. 

1. Identify what characterizes “non-dreaming” phenomena and the impairment such phenomena have on the analytic pair. 

1. Describe how, according to Civatrese, the analyst’s reverie can gradually lead to figurability. 

1. Describe how “dismantling” procedures are related to “autistic nuclei.” 

1. Describe Anzieu-Premmereur’s process of representation in early childhood. 

1. List at least three early (infant) defenses and their relationship with the lack of figuration. 

1. Identify, according to Anzieu-Premmereur, the analyst’s role in treatment with children.