Difference between revisions of "Interpretation"
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| + | The role of the [[analyst]] in the [[treatment]] is twofold. | ||
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| + | First and foremost, he must listen to the [[analysand]], but he must also intervene by speaking to the [[analysand]]. | ||
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| + | Although the [[analyst]]'s [[speech]] is characterized by many different kinds of [[speech|speech act]] (asking questions, giving instructions, etc.), it is the offering of [[interpretation]]s which plays the most crucial and distinctive role in the [[treatment]]. | ||
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| + | Broadly speaking, the [[analyst]] can be said to offer an [[interpretation]] when he says something that subverts the [[analysand]]'s [[conscious]] 'everyday' way of looking at something. | ||
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| + | -- | ||
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| + | [[Freud]] first began offering [[interpretation]]s to his [[patient]]s in order to help them remember an idea that had been [[repressed]] from [[memory]]. | ||
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| + | These [[interpretation]]s were educated guesses about what the [[patient]]s had omitted from their account of the events which led up to the [[formation]] of their [[symptom]]s. | ||
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| + | For example, in one of the earliest [[interpretation]]s, [[Freud]] told one [[patient]] that she had not revealed all her motives for the intense affection she showed towards her employer's children, and went on to say; "I believe that really you are in love with your employer, the Director, though perhaps without being aware of it yourself."<ref>{{F}} 1895d. SE II. p.117</ref> | ||
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| + | The purpose of the [[interpretation]] was to help the [[patient]] become [[conscious]] of [[unconscious]] thoughts. | ||
Revision as of 19:53, 30 July 2006
The role of the analyst in the treatment is twofold.
First and foremost, he must listen to the analysand, but he must also intervene by speaking to the analysand.
Although the analyst's speech is characterized by many different kinds of speech act (asking questions, giving instructions, etc.), it is the offering of interpretations which plays the most crucial and distinctive role in the treatment.
Broadly speaking, the analyst can be said to offer an interpretation when he says something that subverts the analysand's conscious 'everyday' way of looking at something.
--
Freud first began offering interpretations to his patients in order to help them remember an idea that had been repressed from memory.
These interpretations were educated guesses about what the patients had omitted from their account of the events which led up to the formation of their symptoms.
For example, in one of the earliest interpretations, Freud told one patient that she had not revealed all her motives for the intense affection she showed towards her employer's children, and went on to say; "I believe that really you are in love with your employer, the Director, though perhaps without being aware of it yourself."[1]
The purpose of the interpretation was to help the patient become conscious of unconscious thoughts.
- ↑ Freud, Sigmund. 1895d. SE II. p.117
