Substance-induced dissociation clinic: psychoanalytic practice in a case of drug-addiction

Journal title RICERCA PSICOANALITICA
Author/s Fabio Beni
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/2 Language Italian
Pages 33 P. 39-71 File size 684 KB
DOI 10.3280/RPR2013-002004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

In this paper the author tries to illustrate the concept of substance-induced dissociation through the use of clinical case reports. In reviewing Elisa’s case, one can observe the outcomes this dissociative process generates at every level. Under the influence of this psychopathological process, psychological functioning, personality and physical appearance change, and this kind of change splits the psychic life and the course of life events in different sealed compartments ‒ in this case one can lose the sense of life as a whole. In these circumstances, the final therapeutic objective is to contact and put together these parts. In particular the author wants to emphasize the strength of pre-transference dynamics that lead therapists to enactment, reducing their capacity for, and possibility of, thinking.

Keywords: Drug addiction, dissociation, psychoanalysis, case report, pre-transference\ repetition

  1. Balint M. & E. (1968). The Basic Fault. New York: Brunnel/Mazen. Trad. it.: La Regressione. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 1983
  2. Beni F. (2009). Tossicodipendenze, psicoanalisi e complessità: La dissociazione farmacoindotta. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, XLIII, 4: 509-532.
  3. Bettelheim B. (1967). The Empty Fortress. NY: The Macmillan Company. Trad. it.: La fortezza vuota. Milano: Garzanti Editore, 1976
  4. Bignamini E. (2007). La tossicodipendenza come malattia. Influenza degli stressors durante la detenzione sul programma di cura dei tossicodipendenti (Relazione presentata al convegno Delle Droghe e delle Pene. Torino: 16-17 novembre 2006). In: Bignamini E. & De Bernardis A., a cura di (2007). Delle droghe e delle pene. Cuneo: Publiedit, pp. 33-38.
  5. Bignamini E. & Bombini R. (2003). Considerazioni sul pensiero e sul linguaggio delle tossicodipendenze. Medicina delle Tossicodipendenze, 11, 38: 49-58.
  6. Bignamini E., Cortese M., Garau S., Sansebastiano S. (2002). Dipendenza da sostanze e patologia psichiatrica. Bologna: Editeam, 2002.
  7. Bion W.R. (1962). Learning from Experience. New York: Basic Books (trad. it.: Apprendere dall’esperienza. Roma: Armando, 1972).
  8. Brisman J. (1995a). Addiction. In: Lionells M., Fiscalini J., Mann C.H. & Stern D.B., editors, Handbook of Interpersonal Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press, 1995, cap. 23, pp. 537-551.
  9. Brisman, J. (1995b). Psychodynamic psychotherapy and action-oriented technique: An Integrated Approach. In: Yalom I. and Werne J., eds., Treating Eating Disorders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 31-70.
  10. Bromberg P.M. (2001). Standing in the Spaces. Essays on Clinical Process, Trauma, and Dissociation. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press. Trad. it.: Clinica del trauma e della dissociazione: Standing in the Spaces. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2007
  11. Bromberg P.M. (2006). Awakening the Dreamer: Clinical Journeys. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press. Trad. it.: Destare il Sognatore. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2009
  12. Burton N. (2005). Finding the lost girls: multiplicity and dissociation in the treatment of addictions. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 15: 587-612 DOI: 10.1080/10481881509348852
  13. Canali S. (2003). Storia e critica del concetto di tossicodipendenza. Medicina delle Tossicodipendenze, 11, 38: 7-13.
  14. Davis W. (1991). Reflections on boundaries in the psychotherapeutic relationship. In: Johnson C., editor, Psychodynamics Treatment of Anorexia and Bulimia. New York: Guilford Press, pp. 68-85.
  15. Davies J.M. (1999). Getting cold feet, defining “safe-enough” borders: Dissociation, multiplicity, and integration in the analyst’s experience. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 68: 184- 208 DOI: 10.1002/j.2167-4086.1999.tb00530.x
  16. Dodes L.M. (1990). Addiction, helplessness, and narcisistic rage. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 59: 398-419.
  17. Dodes L.M. (2003). Addiction and psychoanalysis. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 11, 1: 123-134.
  18. Director L. (2002a). The value of the relational psychoanalysis in the treatment of chronic drug and alcohol use. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 12: 551-579 DOI: 10.1080/10481881-209348689
  19. Director L. (2002b). Reply to commentaries. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 12: 593-598 DOI: 10.1080/10481881209348692
  20. Ferro A. (2009). Aggressività, trasformazione e contenimento: Un seminario con Antonino Ferro. Roma: Borla.
  21. Flowers L.K., Zweben J.E. (1996). The dream interview method in addiction recovery. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2, 13: 99-105 DOI: 10.1016/0740-5472(96)00-033-5
  22. Flowers L.K., Zweben J.E. (1998). The changing role of “using” dreams in addiction recovery. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 3, 15: 193-200 DOI: 10.1016/S0740-5472(97)00188-8
  23. Fontana M. (2012a). La diagnosi in psicoanalisi relazionale. Una prospettiva unitaria. Ricerca Psicoanalitica, 23, 2: 73-100 DOI: 10.3280/RPR2012-002006
  24. Fontana M. (2012b). La psicopatologia in psicoanalisi della relazione. In: Bozuffi F., Comprensione psicodinamica della psicopatologia in prospettiva relazionale. Parma: Universitas
  25. Freud S. (1916). Le eccezioni. In: Opere, vol. 8. Torino: Boringhieri, 1984
  26. Hoffman I. (1992). Some Practical Implications of a Social-Constructivist View of the Psychoanalytic Situation. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 2(3), 287-304 DOI: 10.1080/104818-89209538934
  27. Johnson L.C., Burdick J.A., & Smith J. (1970). Sleep during alcohol intake and withdrawal in the chronic alcoholic. Archives of General Psychiatry, 22: 406-418 DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1970.01740290022004
  28. Johnson B. (1999). Three perspectives on addiction. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 47, 3: 791-815 DOI: 10.1177/00030651990470031301
  29. Johnson B. (2001). Book review: “Treating addiction as a human process: Edward J. Khantzian. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999”. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 49, 2: 717-720 DOI: 10.1177/00030651010490021701
  30. Johnson B. (2003). Psychological addiction, physical addiction, addictive character, and addictive personality disorder: a nosology of addictive disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 11, 1: 135-160
  31. Khantzian E.J. (1978). The ego, the self, and opiate addiction: Theoretical and treatment considerations. Int. Rev. Psycho-Anal., 5: 189-198
  32. Kuriloff E. (2004). When words fail: psychosomatic illness and the talking cure. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 73(4): 1023-40 DOI: 10.1002/j.2167-4086.2004.tb00191.x
  33. Levenson E. (1972). The Fallacy of Understanding. New York: Basic Books
  34. Levenson E. (1982). Language and Healing. In: Slipp S., editor, Dynamic Psychotherapy. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, pp. 91-103
  35. Loiacono A. M. (2011). L’identità dello psicoterapeuta oggi: prospettive nella formazione. Presentato al XIII Joint Meeting OPIFER/AAPDP. Roma, novembre 2011. Disponibile su www.annamarialoiacono.it.
  36. Loiacono A. M. (2012). Feelings of the Therapist and the Obligations of Countertransference. In: International Forum of Psychoanalysis. New York: Taylor & Francis
  37. Looney, M. (1972). The dreams of heroin addicts. Social Work, 17, 6: 23-28.
  38. Lo Piccolo C. (2000). Tossicodipendenza e psicoterapia analitica. Gruppi, 1: 57-80.
  39. Morin E. (1985). Le vie della complessità. Trad it. In: Bocchi G., Ceruti M., a cura di. La sfida della complessità. Milano: Feltrinelli.
  40. Morrison R.A. (1990). Dream Mapping in Chemical Dependency Recovery. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 7, 3: 113-120 DOI: 10.1300/J020V07N03_09
  41. Ogden T.H. (2003). On not being able to dream. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 84: 17-30 DOI: 10.1516/1D1W-025P-10VJ-TMRW
  42. Pizer S.A. (1998). Building Bridges: The Negotiation of Paradox in Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
  43. Robertson E. (2003). Reflections on analytic work with a woman who has an addiction. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 11, 1: 185-199
  44. Sander L.W. (2007). Sistemi viventi. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore
  45. Sava V. (2006). Il dove della psicoterapia tra dipendenza, tossicodipendenze e disturbo da uso di sostanze. In: Sava V. & Rosa E., a cura di, Lo spazio dei limiti. Prospettive psicoanalitiche nella psicoterapia delle tossicodipendenze. Milano: FrancoAngeli
  46. Stern D. B. (1997). Unformulated Experience. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press. Trad. it.: L’esperienza non formulata: dalla dissociazione all’immaginazione in psicoanalisi. Tirrenia: Del Cerro, 2007
  47. Sullivan H.S. (1953). The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. New York: Norton. Trad. it.: La teoria interpersonale della psichiatria. Milano: Feltrinelli, 1962
  48. Varela F.J. (1985). Complessità del cervello e autonomia del vivente. In: Bocchi G. e Ceruti M., a cura di, La sfida della complessità. Milano: Feltrinelli.
  49. Varela F.J. (1997). Neurofenomenologia. Una soluzione metodologica al “problema difficile”. Pluriverso, Biblioteca delle idee per la civiltà contemporanea, 3. Disponibile su internet all’indirizzo: www.oikos.org/varelaneurofenomenologia.htm
  50. Von Bertalanffy L. (1968). Trad. it.: Teoria generale dei sistemi. Milano: Mondadori, 2004
  51. Waelder R. (1976). Psychoanalysis: Observation, theory, application. New York: International University Press
  52. Winnicott D.W. (1971). Playing and Reality. New York: Basic Books. Trad. it.: Gioco e realtà. Roma: Armando, 1975.
  53. Wurmser L. (1974). Psychoanalytic consideration of the etiology of compulsive drug use. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 22: 820-843 DOI: 10.1177/00030-6517402200407
  54. Wurmser L. (1985). Denial and split identity: timely issues in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of compulsive drug users. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2: 89-96 DOI: 10.1016/0740-5472(85)90032-7
  55. Wurmser L. (1987). Flight from conscience: Experiences with the psychoanalytic treatment of compulsive drug abusers. Dynamic and therapeutic conclusion from the experiences with psychoanalysis of drug users. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 4: 169-179 DOI: 10.1016/S0740-5472(87)80011-9

  • La dissociazione farmaco-indotta: l'orpha "chimico" come base di una nuova tecnologia analitica Fabio Beni, Daniele Santoni, in RICERCA PSICOANALITICA 1/2014 pp.55
    DOI: 10.3280/RPR2014-001005

Fabio Beni, La clinica della dissociazione farmaco-indotta: la pratica psicoanalitica in un caso di drug-addiction in "RICERCA PSICOANALITICA" 2/2013, pp 39-71, DOI: 10.3280/RPR2013-002004